Grading Cavs’ trade for Donovan Mitchell from all angles

Grading Cavs’ trade for Donovan Mitchell from all angles: The Players

The Cavaliers sent three players to the Utah Jazz in this deal. Lauri Markkanen, a starter at the 3 all of last year; Ochai Agbaji, the Cavs’ choice at pick no. 14 in this past summer’s NBA Draft; and Collin Sexton, who finally gets his contract with a four-year, $72 million deal.

Last season Sexton missed all but the first 11 games, and Agbaji was winning a National Championship with Kansas. That means that in terms of on-court production, the Cavs essentially turned a starter in Markkanen into an All-Star guard in Donovan Mitchell.

Sexton had some amount of value, but as a restricted free agent the Cavs didn’t have as much leverage as they would have trading a Sexton under contract. Markkanen is fairly paid as a low-end starter, and Agbaji is a mid-first-round pick. They are all solid players, but none of them was your typical headliner for an NBA star trade.

What the Jazz wanted was draft picks, and the Cavs pushing so many into the deal allowed them to protect their three core players. Losing Markkanen stings, and it opens up new questions at the 3, but he never fit great with this team. The only drawback is that if the Cavs could have included Caris LeVert instead of Markkanen they would have had a roster that fits just a bit better around the stars.

Grade: A-