The Cleveland Cavaliers have not been playing the long game. Once they had a whiff of success they began to make win-now moves, including trading for Caris LeVert to try and secure a playoff berth down the stretch last year. The ultimate move came Thursday when the Cavs traded for Utah Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell.
Cleveland isn’t supposed to be a player in these big superstar trades. They’re supposed to be negotiations between a small market team losing its star and a big market team gaining it. That was the narrative here too, with the New York Knicks in line to add the dynamic perimeter scorer. Then things fell apart, the Jazz pivoted, and the Cavs swooped in to add their best player since LeBron James.
The Cleveland Cavaliers made a blockbuster trade for Donovan Mitchell. Let’s examine this deal for the Cavs from every angle and give a final grade
The final deal? The Jazz sent just Donovan Mitchell in exchange for Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton (in a sign-and-trade on a four-year, $72 million contract), 2022 lottery pick Ochai Agbaji, unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, and two unprotected pick swaps reported to be in 2026 and 2028.
It’s quite the trade package, and it’s quite the star player for the Cavs. Let’s break things down by individual components to evaluate this trade piece by piece. Did the Cavs get good value for their picks and players, how does Mitchell fit with the team, and will the Cavs miss being able to make other moves? Finally, we will land on an overall grade for the deal.
Grading Cavs’ trade for Donovan Mitchell from all angles: The Picks
The Cleveland Cavaliers included three completely unprotected picks in this deal, as well as two unprotected pick swaps. That essentially means that the Utah Jazz control the draft for the Cavs from 2025 to 2029. Added on to the massive haul they got in the Rudy Gobert deal, and the Jazz are positively flush with picks for the next decade.
There are two key dates necessary to evaluate the value of these picks. The first is July 1st, 2025. That’s when Donovan Mitchell could decline his player option and hit unrestricted free agency; the Jazz are betting that he will and that the Cavs will then have a lot of disaster potential and make those picks lucrative ones.
The other date? June 18, 2001. That’s the day that Evan Mobley was born, which means he will still be only 28 years old when the Cavs convey their final draft pick from this trade. Given his trajectory and the ages of Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen too, even if MItchell walks this team will still be very good. If Mitchell stays? These picks are nothing-burgers, late-round fliers that may have yielded a rotation player once but aren’t going to cripple a contending Cavs squad.
It’s a lot of picks, and it limits the Cavs’ flexibility moving forward. Yet there is a very good chance each of these picks and swaps land in the 20s, and so the “unprotected” label is largely irrelevant. There is always some amount of downside, but given the ages of the Cavs’ core that downside is incredibly small.
Grade: B
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-
Grading Cavs’ trade for Donovan Mitchell from all angles: The Fit
Offensively this move is a tremendous one, solving the Cavs’ problems from last year and putting the rest of the Eastern Conference on notice. Both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell can dribble, run pick-and-rolls, drive into the defense, finish, pass, and even move off-ball. Defenses are going to be incredibly hard-pressed to stop this pairing.
Last year’s Cavs were essentially reduced to Garland running the show, with Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio hurt, and he did brilliantly. When Garland went off the court or was doubled, the rest of the team struggled to pick up the slack. They finished 20th; now they have turned that weakness into a strength, with Mitchell and Garland one of the league’s most dynamic guard pairings. In fact, they might be the best.
Defensive is where things get a bit dicey. Both Garland and Mitchell lack the ideal size to be plus defenders, and whether it is their offensive load or their underlying skill level, neither has shown much on that end in the past few years. Yet where Mitchell represents an upgrade on Sexton or Caris LeVert is his wingpsan, which clocks in at 6’10”, for a rare +9 wingspan. He has the athleticism and quickness to be an above-average defender, he just has to work to improve in that area.
The good thing for the Cavs is that if you are going to have two small guards in the backcourt, you better have an elite frontcourt, and few teams can match the Cavs’ combination of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley defensively. Ideally the Cavs would have cashed their chips in for a two-way wing, but they weren’t getting one of those players without including one of their core members. For what the Cavs were willing to get up, Mitchell’s fit and production is sublime.
Grade: B+
Grading Cavs’ trade for Donovan Mitchell from all angles: The Opportunity Cost
With any trade in the NBA, you have to ask about the opportunity cost. In making this specific move, did the team give up the chance to make another trade, or block one of their players from minutes, or sell low or buy high?
In this case, the opportunity cost for the Cavs was probably quite low. They acquired a perennial All-Star guard without giving up one of their three core players. They are in Cleveland, so burning a bit of their 2023 cap space doesn’t hurt them much. They also are generally unlikely to be a possibility in made trade discussions where a star is involved.
The picks are plentiful, but as we discussed above they are very likely to fall in the back-third of the first round. Keeping those picks may have opened up another trade opportunity, or they may have simply sat there, turning into fringe rotation players year by year.
There was no other star deal that appeared to be on the table, and the Cavs have him under contract for at least three whole seasons. Stars usually come available near the end of their contract, so this is unique team control for Cleveland.
Grade: A
Grading Cavs’ trade for Donovan Mitchell from all angles: The Overall Grade
The Cleveland Cavaliers just traded for a 25 year-old three-time All-Star who immediately fills a need on this roster. The Cavs now have four All-Stars (or future All-Stars) under contract for at least the next three seasons, and their ages are 25, 24, 22 and 21. That’s a whole lot of upside, and a long time to realize it.
That’s the best part of this trade. The Cavs didn’t go for a win-now move that mortgaged the future for the present; they invested in a better present and a better future. Mitchell may want to bolt for the big city in a few years, but he absolutely could buy into the success of the Cavs and decide to stick around.
Even if MItchell decides to leave the Cavs aren’t going to be in moribund shape like the Brooklyn Nets after the trade for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett went south. They will still be in the prime of their window, with the ability to flip Mitchell again for assets or for another core piece.
There are concerns here. Mitchell needs to take a step forward on defense for this backcourt to survive. The Cavs have to solve their small forward problem with extremely limited resources. Cleveland may have three top-25 players in a couple of years, but to win the title you generally need a top 7 guy. Will the Cavs ever have one of those again?
This was fair value for Mitchell and the kind of swing you have to make as a small market team in Cleveland. The Cavs are going to be good this year, and could be downright excellent in the years to come. It may become an overpay, but it’s highly unlikely to become a disaster. Just as likely? A dynasty.
Grade: B+