Alright. I think we finally have the answer to every question we had this offseason.
Kevin Durant didn’t end up being traded, so that’s settled. Now we also know where Donovan Mitchell is going, too. The answer is the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Jazz just brought in an absolutely massive haul for their 3-time All-Star. It includes a number of unprotected draft picks, a couple of pick swaps between the two teams, a prospect in Ochai Agbaji and veteran players in Colin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen.
The trade came out of nowhere on Thursday with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowksi breaking the news.
Full trade: Utah is trading Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland for Lauri Markkanen, Ochair Agbaji, Collin Sexton, three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 1, 2022
Now that we know what the deal looks like, let’s break it down.
The Details
Here’s the full trade.
THE CAVS GET: Donovan Mitchell
THE JAZZ GET: Colin Sexton via sign-and-trade on a 4-year, $72 million deal, Lauri Markkanen and Ochai Agbaji.
On the pick side, they get:
- 3 unprotected 1st round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029
- 2 pick swaps in 2026 and 2028
Let’s dive into the grades.
Cleveland Cavaliers
GRADE: B
This one is tough to grade. It feels like there’s no question the Cavaliers just improved with this trade. But when you really think about it? This is pretty risky.
The Cavaliers had 3 lineups in total that played at least 40 minutes together and had a collective net rating of +15.0 or better. Lauri Markkanen was in two of them. It gets better. The combo of Ricky Rubio, Darius Garland, Markkanen, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen was a collective +40.6 on the year. The sample is small — they only played 41 minutes together through 13 games. But it worked. It really worked. And now, it’s gone. Sacrificed to bring in a small scoring guard in Mitchell who doesn’t defend at a high level.
And, look. Mitchell is good. You don’t become a 3-time All-Star without being really good — especially in the West. But his backcourt pairing with Garland is questionable. The small guard thing didn’t work defensively with Sexton, so why would it work here? That’s a reasonable question to ask and one we’ll be saddled with all season long.
But, hey. When you can go out and get another All-Star to add to roster with two already in hand? You go do it. The Cavs are stacked and they should fight for homecourt in the East. The talent is there.
That’s why this is a B.
Utah Jazz
GRADE: B+
I think this is a good trade on the Jazz’s part. They were very clearly only in this thing for picks and they’ve got what they wanted.
They own the Cavaliers future through 2029 and there’s no guarantee Donovan Mitchell will stick around after the summer of 2025 when he can opt out of his deal. They’ve found a good trade partner here and now have 13 massive picks to show for it.
Cleveland is sending its three unprotected picks to Utah in 2025, 2027 and 2029 and picks swaps in 2026 and 2028, sources tell ESPN. Along with the Rudy Gobert trade with Minnesota, Utah has gathered 13 unprotected or lightly protected picks through 2029.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 1, 2022
The only reason this isn’t an A across the board is because I just feel like had they waited a bit longer and allowed the Knicks to get a little more desperate, they could’ve had a deal done there. And the Knicks would be a much, much worse team — even with Mitchell in hand.
Don’t get it twisted. The Jazz made out extremely well. There’s just this nagging feeling they may have left something on the table.
Regardless, the future is still bright in Utah.
