Based on recent reports from earlier in the week, the Cleveland Cavaliers were said to have interest in Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell, who is a player that could be traded in the near future.
Utah dealt Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a trade already this offseason, and is going to be weighing their share of Mitchell trade offers, and with them seemingly set for a full-rebuild, that’s understandable.
Cleveland earlier this week was said to be among a number of teams that were interested in Mitchell, with the New York Knicks being the most serious suitor all along it’s appeared. The Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards are other clubs rumored to have interest, too, among others.
But when it comes to the Cavaliers in this sense, in particular, they never seemed to be all that serious of Mitchell trade suitors. A report earlier on Friday from Evan Dammarell of Right Down Euclid and Fear The Sword echoed that, to me, and these comments substantiated my thought process in that aspect, also after Dammarell stated the Cavs-Jazz talks were “more cursory than anything.”
This is from part of a response in a recent report/mailbag, for context, when a fan asked whether the Cavaliers could trade for Mitchell, and after him essentially mentioning how the talk still could seemingly be there so long as Mitchell is on the market.
"“But, if you’re the Cavaliers, you might not want to sell the farm in order to get Mitchell. Part of it is having to give up so much for a top 20 player in this league and that juice, in the end, may not be worth the squeeze. That and if Mitchell were on the roster, it would prevent Cleveland from signing Evan Mobley to a designated maximum rookie contract extension based on bylaws in the league’s CBA. Sure, there are ways to circumvent that scenario but it gets messier and messier with Mitchell being such an unknown factor in all of this.So, for now, there’s always a chance it could happen. Would Mitchell push Cleveland further into the playoff conversation? Absolutely. But, don’t be surprised when Mitchell isn’t a Cavalier either. But, for what it’s worth, it would at least get rid of the uncomfortable Collin Sexton conversation surrounding this team heading into training camp.”"
Furthemore, while theoretically the interest could still be there, Ian Begley of SNY reported on Friday how the Cavaliers have “removed themselves” from the Mitchell trade sweepstakes, and that no other suitors can offer nearly what the Knicks can to Utah for Mitchell. The Mitchell-Knicks talk stems some from Mitchell being a New York native, too, naturally, and the Knicks seemingly wanting to make a splash in their market likely has plenty to do with these rumors.
Cleveland Cavaliers have removed themselves from Donovan Mitchell trade talks, per SNY sources. Doesn’t seem like there are any suitors at moment who can approach what Knicks can offer Utah - even if you take RJ Barrett off the table. So this trade is still NYK’s to lose.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) August 26, 2022
Due diligence by the Cavs was understandable, but they never seemed to be serious Mitchell trade suitors.
For the Cavaliers, as Dammarell’s report expressed seemingly, the Wine and Gold wanted to do their due diligence with this Mitchell interest. I get where the Cavaliers were coming from, too, given the dude’s skill set and talent level.
Mitchell is a three-time All-Star guard, and his shooting, shot creation, pick-and-roll play and secondary playmaking abilities, in this sense with Darius Garland, could help solidify the Cavs as being big factors in the Eastern Conference.
Mitchell has had 25.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game over the past three seasons for Utah, and with his willingness and capability to shoot from deep, he could add another big-time shot creator for the Cavs, and is a hell of a three-level scorer. He’s also set to be signed through the next three seasons, with the 2025-26 season with him currently in line to have a roughly $37.1 million player option.
Needless to say, I do get the Cavaliers doing their due diligence in inquiring about Mitchell’s services. The guy is such a gifted offensive player and he’s still only set to be 26 in September.
That said, given that it’d take seemingly a haul of assets/young talent in Isaac Okoro and/or Ochai Agbaji, a guy such as Lauri Markkanen and/or Collin Sexton (via sign-and-trade), and likely other pick swaps, one would think, I just didn’t foresee the Cavs being that serious of candidates for Mitchell.
And although the Cavs could technically make it work eventually, such as if Mitchell were to opt into his player option for 2025-26 and sign a vet extension, as our own Josh Cornelissen suggested (feasibly meaning 2025), Dammarell’s point was an astute one. A Mitchell trade potentially leading to an issue for a possible Mobley rookie scale max extension down the road was something else to keep in mind in this hypothetical scenario.
Also, with the Knicks seemingly having been the Mitchell frontrunner for quite some time, the Cavs just didn’t appear to be that serious of a contender to land Mitchell.
Plus, at least from my perspective, a Mitchell move could potentially be much more so a lateral one, given all the Cavaliers would have to concede in a possible deal for him. And losing a good deal of the bench seemingly wouldn’t be great, and I’m probably higher on Markkanen’s impact as a shooter and improved defender than most.
All things considered, anyway, I didn’t personally buy the Cavs as being serious Mitchell trade suitors.