I Love This Donovan Mitchell Trade
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Donovan Mitchell was finally traded. And it wasn't to the Knicks or Lakers or the Warriors. He is going to the Cavs.
This is shocking to me. I love it, but it is wild. Donovan Mitchell got what he wanted, the Cavs got instantly better and the Jazz got a young guy trying to repair his game and a bunch of more picks. Now Utah just has to find a trade partner for Mike Conley and they can go into full rebuild mode. But let's look at this trade primarily.
I love, love, love this deal for the Cavs. I was, and still am, a Collin Sexton fan. But his time in Cleveland was over the moment Darius Garland became an all star last season. The backcourt was going to be Garland's from here on out. They are going to build the backcourt around him. Adding Donovan Mitchell makes them an immediate threat. He and Garland can both handle the ball, score at will, find scoring lanes where there may not be any and are a matchup nightmare for other teams. This instantly props the Cavs as a playoff contender. Hell, I'd say you could write it in pen. They will be a playoff team and could be a top four seed. This puts them on par with Miami, Toronto, Chicago and Atlanta, all playoff teams last season. I'd only put the Bucks, 76ers and Celtics ahead of them now with the addition of Mitchell. What makes it even better is they got to keep their core guys. I mentioned Garland, but they also kept Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. They still have Cedi Osman and Caris Levert coming off the bench. They only had to give up Sexton and three unprotected picks, which will most likely be later first round picks since the Cavs should be good for awhile now.
This is the best the Cavs have looked since LeBron James was there. I love that the Cavs are going for it and trying to be relevant again. They have this great group of young guys, a great frontcourt and, now, one of the best backcourts in the East, hell, maybe even the NBA. This is an absolute homerun.
As for the Jazz, they traded a disgruntled all star, got more picks and got a reclamation project in Sexton. Sexton will get all the shots and touches he could ever want. He should, and most likely will, be their number one guy. He will be the focal point of the offense. He will get every single chance to redeem himself and show everyone why he was such a prize draft pick. I love that for him. But the Jazz also got more picks, which I think is what they wanted even more. With these three unprotected picks, the Jazz now have thirteen picks through 2029. That is a goldmine of picks that only the Thunder can match right now. The Jazz want to start over and build through the draft. They get to do just that. And I wonder how many picks they can get for Conley at some point. After trading Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, I cannot imagine a world where they keep Conley around. That would be a nightmare for him, and a mistake by the Jazz. They can definitely get more picks and maybe another young player.
This trade is a win-win for both squads. Both teams got what they wanted. And if I were Mitchell I would be absolutely stoked to go play for this up and coming Cavs team. They are going to be one fun team to watch next season. I love this so very much and it makes me even more excited to watch the NBA this year. What a deal. Wow.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.