Knicks perspective:

Do I even have to say much? Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson with Josh Hart off the bench? Yeah, that's an ECF contender. It leaves the bench really thin outside of Hart and Hartenstein, but that starting lineup is not to be messed with. It's perfectly balanced. Granted, the only negative is if a star like Joel Embiid or Luka Dončić were to hit the trade market this Summer, the Knicks would not be in the running for either of them given the fact that they're giving up almost all of their draft capital. Doesn't matter though, cause with our starting lineup we're a contender and will be for at least the next 5+ years once we re-sign Mitchell.

Cavaliers perspective:

We bought in, we paid the price, now we're cashing out before it's too late. Yeah, Mitchell might not leave, but do we really want to take the risk? This trade sends out Donovan Mitchell and we get back RJ Barrett, Miles McBride, 3 unprotected 1st round picks in 2024, 2027 and 2029, plus 2 1st round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. RJ Barrett is more traditional backcourt fit alongside Darius Garland. He can rebound, hit 3s, and apply rim pressure. McBride can develop into the backup PG for the team while Rubio is away due to mental health. And, if we so choose, we can flip those 3 1st and 2 swaps later down the line for a better fit should one present itself down the line.

Perhaps a reunion down the line with LeBron James puts them a piece or two away from contention and they'll have the tools to attract him and build around him. Darius Garland, RJ Barrett, LeBron James, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen? With one of RJ or Allen getting traded with the picks to bring back a star? Oh yeah, I'd be all over that. Even if LeBron isn't a guarantee to come back for one more go around, imagine Embiid and Mobley together? Sheesh. Lot of options if we cash out on Mitchell. Or we can stay with this roster that is clearly misconstructed and not going anywhere.

Raptors perspective:

We're mid, man. We're so mid. And worst of all, we're inconsistently mid. We'll beat the Suns one night and then lose to the Nets the next. It's time to blow it up. And in this situation the Knicks are giving us 6th man of the Year candidate Immanuel Quickley, a defensive guard in Quentin Grimes, 2 unprotected 1st round picks in 2025 (one from the Knicks and one from Milwaukee), AND a swap in 2026 for OG Anunoby and Jaden McDaniels (who gets redirected to Cleveland here). That's a great start to a rebuild. Quickley can come in and immediately be the starting PG that this team desperately needs. Barnes is a good playmaker, but he's more of a secondary playmaker than a primary playmaker. And he can split the ball-handling duties with Quickley. Plus the acquisition of Grimes helps us keep that grit and grind mentality we have of no easy baskets.