Did Enmity/Ego Prevent Danny Ainge From Securing the Best Package Possible?

Sexton/Markkanen will make a combined salary of $69.8 million over the next two seasons. Quickley/Grimes' combined salary over the next two seasons is just $10.7 million.

With the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes now completed, I remain astonished at how the final days of the soap opera played out. 

Utah definitely got a solid package in return for their star shooting guard, but the Knicks had the assets to beat Cleveland's best offer. Remarkably, Danny Ainge didn't go back to Leon Rose and say, "Okay, the Cavs are offering me X, Y and Z. I know our negotiations have been contentious, but I'll give you one last chance to make a best and final offer." Instead, New York found out that Mitchell was Cleveland-bound after the deal was done. 

For what it's worth, Ric Bucher of Fox Sports reported over the weekend that some Jazz officials were unhappy that Mitchell wanted out and viewed sending him to Cleveland, rather than home to New York, as "payback." And we know that Ainge and company were furious that a Knicks contingent featuring World Wide Wes and Allan Houston sat courtside during Game 1 of the Dallas-Utah first-round playoff series in April. Not to mention the tension and animosity that tends to arise between clubs once negotiations actually begin. 

It seems undeniable that egos, emotions and feelings got involved in the talks between the Knicks and Jazz over the six weeks the teams went back and forth.

As a reminder, the Cavaliers sent Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton, and three unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027 and 2029) and two pick swaps (2026 and 2028) to Utah in exchange for Mitchell.

Markkanen has three years left on the four-year, $67.4 million contract he inked last summer. He'll make an average of $17.2 million over the next three seasons. Sexton signed a four-year, $72 million (fully guaranteed) pact as part of the sign-and-trade. He'll make an average of $18 million over the life of the contract. Agbaji was the 14th pick in the 2022 draft.

Jazz supporters have argued that the players Utah received are superior to what the Knicks were offering. That's debatable. 

Various reports have indicated that as of last weekend, New York was willing to part with RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and three future first-round picks (two unprotected and one with only top-5 protections), along with two second-round picks and two pick swaps. I'm also going to assume the Knicks were open to including Miles McBride and/or Rokas Jokubaitis in the deal, as those two youngsters would have had a tough time cracking the rotation in a New York backcourt that featured Jalen Brunson, Mitchell, Derrick Rose and Quentin Grimes.

Is Sexton/Markkanen combo a better player package than Barrett and IQ?