Pros, cons of Zach Lowe’s proposed Cavs trade for Donovan Mitchell

Cons of Zach Lowe’s proposed Cavs trade for Donovan Mitchell

There are three major drawbacks to trading for Donovan Mitchell. The first is simply the risk factor involved; while Lowe’s deal would exclude any of the core three players from heading to Utah, it would send out three first-round picks, with two of them almost certainly needing to be unprotected. That’s scary, even for a young team with as much long-term upside as the Cavs.

The second is the defensive fit of Mitchell and Darius Garland in the backcourt. Neither exerts much influence defensively, with both protected recently by playing ahead of an elite rim protector in Rudy Gobert and Jarrett Allen, respectively. Together they would be targeted by opposing perimeter players, especially in the postseason, and many of the same issues the Jazz have had in recent years with Mike Conley and Mitchell together could rear their heads.

Finally, this trade would open up major question marks about the future of Collin Sexton. Could the Cavs really bring him back and try to work out a backcourt rotation with three small guards in Mitchell, Garland and Sexton, all three listed at 6’1″ tall? Would he take his qualifying offer to get out of town after the Cavs so blatantly replaced him?

There are other issues, including whether Mitchell would just be a rental coming into another small-market team in Cleveland, and whether the Cavs will miss the veteran players they send out in Markkanen, LeVert, Okoro and Osman. Finally, this team will get expensive as Garland’s extension kicks in, putting pressure on this team to win right away.