How do NBA experts grade the Cavs in Donovan Mitchell trade?

The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Donovan Mitchell last week and shocked the world. Instead of going to the New York Knicks, the All-Star guard lands with the Cavs, who sent back to the Utah Jazz a hearty pack of draft picks and players.

Cavs fans should be through the roof on this deal. Alongside a young core of three All-Star level players, a small market team with little history of adding young stars just brought in a 25-year-old dynamic scoring guard. He will slot right in at shooting guard to form one of the league’s most dynamic backcourts.

The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Donovan Mitchell last week, and NBA experts and analysts from around the country have grades for the Cavs on the deal.

Trying to extricate ourselves from the shock and elation, however, it’s helpful to evaluate the deal more objectively. Was it a fair deal for the Cavs given what they gave up? How much does it move the needle? Are they now a legitimate contender? These are good questions to ask even as Cavs fans celebrate the move.

Let’s take the objectivity a step further. How did the rest of the NBA community like the trade? To that end, let’s go around some of the mainstream sites that cover basketball and look at their trade grades for the Cavs. Then we’ll land back in the FanSided network to finish up.