Everybody Got What They Wanted In The Donovan Mitchell Trade
After weeks of speculation, Donovan Mitchell finally got traded…to the Cavs. Here are my thoughts on this win-win trade.
Donovan Mitchell had been in trade rumors for weeks. We all thought he was going to the Knicks, but things fell through at the eleventh hour. So, in a move we all expected (sarcasm), the 3x All-Star is heading to the Cavaliers. Here are my thoughts on this trade.
The Trade
Danny Ainge wanted picks, not players, for Donovan Mitchell. That’s why the Knicks eventually backed off by resigning RJ Barrett to an extension. The Cavaliers were not a team I expected to be in the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes, but here we are;
Cavaliers Receive: Donovan Mitchell
Jazz Receive: Lauri Markkanen ~ Collin Sexton (S+T) ~ Ochai Agbaji (R) ~ 5 FRP (Two Pick Swaps)
First, let’s talk about the Jazz;
Utah Jazz
Grade: B
Good but not great. That’s the best way to describe the Jazz for the past few seasons. It’s why Danny Ainge is blowing this roster apart. As soon as he got the haul of hauls for Rudy Gobert, we knew Donovan Mitchell was going to follow. And the Jazz got about as good of a haul as they could have gotten. The Knicks were the only other team highly interested in Mitchell. We can argue about which team had the better offer, but let’s not go there (for now).
So, Now What?
Well, it’s rebuilding time. The Jazz have fifteen draft picks over the next 7 seasons. They’ll get even more once they inevitably trade the likes of Conley, Clarkson, Beasley, and Bogdanovic. This roster will be barren by October.
Now, I couldn’t care less about Collin Sexton or Lauri Markkanen. Heck, I think you can forget about Agbaji, too. This entire time, Victor Wembanyama is at the root of Ainge’s scheming. The Jazz are aboard the Wembanyama hype train. Everything the Jazz are doing is for him, which is incredibly risky.
Tanking for a top pick is as hard as it’s ever been. But, the Jazz are putting their best foot forward in that regard. And even if they don’t get Wembanyama, the Jazz have kickstarted their rebuild. Now for the not-so-great stuff.
The Cavaliers are going to be a playoff team for the next decade. Those picks aren’t the most valuable in the world. I think RJ Barrett is a better asset than Collin Sexton, enough though the Cavs offered way more picks. That’s just me. And, of course, when has risking it all for a teenager ever gone wrong?
The Jazz are officially rebuilding. Let’s see where they go from here.
(I will still enjoy the Jazz being bad for a few years. Me and Vernon Maxwell are on the same page here)
Cleveland Cavaliers
Grade: A+
I was on the Cavaliers bandwagon as soon as they drafted Evan Mobley. Their 2022 season ended on a sour note, but it proved they were on the right track. But, their offense was muddled and lacked pop. Adding Donovan Mitchell brings so much clarity to this team in the short and long term.
Donovan Mitchell is as polarizing as polarizing gets. But, we can all agree that when the going gets tough, it’s not bad to have a flamethrower like him on your side. And that’s what the Cavs were missing last year. Caris Levert didn’t get the job done. Donovan Mitchell most certainly will.
In terms of what they gave up, it’s laughable. The picks they gave up won’t be that valuable, considering they’re on such a steep trajectory going forward. Collin Sexton was a roadblock to the Darius Garland experience. All in all, GM Koby Altman pulled off another heist.
Mitchell gives the Cavs shot creation, ball-handling, and playmaking. In Utah, Mitchell was given the space to try and create offense – leading to an unhealthy amount of 3-pointers. With the Cavaliers, that won’t be the case. Mitchell will now act as the spacer. I’m sure there will be some awkwardness from playing two 7-footers. But, having a creator like Mitchell makes that so much more navigable.
A backcourt of Garland and Mitchell is so deadly offensively. Good luck trying to cover those pick-and-rolls where the guard could either pull up for three or dump it down to two bruising centers who can dribble. The thought of it brings tears to my eyes.
Defensively, Cleveland’s frontcourt can cover for the inadequacies of Garland and Mitchell. The icing on the cake would be if Mitchell would try a little more on defense and unlock the potential I still think he has on that end. If not, who cares? Tim Dunc- I mean, Evan Mobley’s got things covered.
Now, the Cavaliers aren’t going to be contenders this season. The East is too good for that. If they stay healthy, they’ll probably win 50-55 games, which they could have gotten last year if not for injuries. That’s more than fine for a team who hasn’t made the playoffs in 25 years without the help of one of the greatest players in league history.
But, adding another young star like Mitchell, who has contract security (under contract until 2026 with a player option), makes the Cavs a perennial contender in the East. How could they not be? Their young nucleus is getting better and, more importantly, under contract for the foreseeable future.
It was hard not to like the Cavs before. But now? They might have the brightest future in the NBA. Donovan Mitchell gives them everything they need from an offensive/intimidation standpoint. There’s a lot of work to do, but the Cavs have done everything right over the past two years. I can’t wait to see what this funky upstart has in store for us this season.
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