Do the Cavs have best young core post-Donovan Mitchell trade?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best young cores in the NBA and with the recent trade acquisition of Donovan Mitchell (of which you can view more on regarding reported details here), I think it’s safe to say they now have a great argument for the undisputed top spot. A bold statement, I know, but let’s look at a short breakdown of the deal.

The Cavs agreed to a deal with the Utah Jazz Thursday where they sent 3 unprotected first-round picks, 2 pick swaps, Collin Sexton (via sign-and-trade), Lauri Markkannen, and Ochai Agbaji for Mitchell.

This gives Cleveland now 3 All-Stars, (Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen) and 1 with blooming All-Star potential in Evan Mobley.

Do the Cavs now have the best young core after the Donovan Mitchell trade? This article seeks the answer and sees how they stack up against the league.

To determine who qualifies as part of a young core, some criteria must be made. To keep it simple I have decided to make the qualifications if a player is 25 or younger they will count towards the team’s young core. To not dilute the pool of players has to be somewhat of a rotational piece (at least 15 mpg) or show potential to become one. I am not a fortune teller so some rookies may be left off because I do not know enough about them or the team’s plans for them.

You may find my qualifications arbitrary, which may be a fair assessment, but this was the fairest way I could think of.

With that being said I divided the NBA’s best young cores into 3 categories: good, great, and dynasty. Let’s look at how the Cavs stack up against the rest of the league’s young talent.