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.
How do NBA experts grade Cavs in Mitchell trade? Mainstream sites
ESPN – Kevin Pelton: C
One of the best writers and analysts at ESPN, Kevin Pelton famously handles the trade grades for every transaction. Keep in mind that his method grades from a ‘C’ as average. With that in mind, Pelton’s was one of the lowest grades to come in ($$). He thinks the Cavs were smart to find a star player on their timeline but notes that the Cavs’ offense was predicated on the bigs initiating from the elbows and will now see growing pains switching to a pick-and-roll scheme. Ultimately, Pelton writes, “the success or failure of this trade hinges on Cleveland’s ability to retain Mitchell beyond his 2025-26 player option.” He is pessimistic that the Cavs will be front-runners in that decision.
The Athletic – Zach Harper: A-
Like many of the mainstream site a number of NBA analysts broke down the Mitchell deal at The Athletic, but the trade grades themselves were handled by Zach Harper ($$). He makes the salient point that “the draft picks are only as significant as the Cavs’ success allows them to be”; if the Cavs play at a high level for the next eight years, those picks will be bad. He likes that the Cavs didn’t disrupt their main core, and that the bench has options even with the depth they sent out. He concludes: “Cleveland is announcing they’re ready to compete in the East.”
Sports Illustrated – Rohan Nadkarni: A
Over at the-once-great Sports Illustrated, Nadkarni’s assessment began thusly: “I love this move!” He points to Mitchell’s explosive scoring and shooting as much-needed factors that will elevate the offense. He also looks at Cleveland’s context; how else would they add a star? This was the one best option available to them. “Ultimately, as far as home run swings go, this is a sensible one for Cleveland.”
CBS – Colin Ward-Henninger: A+
Over at CBS, the praise was effusive for the Cavs, pointing to Donovan as an elite on-ball creator and attacker whose weaknesses are mitigated by his new teammates. His summary statement: “In one fell swoop, the Cavs set themselves up for both present and future success with three All-Stars (and one future All-Star) all under the age of 26.”
How do NBA experts grade Cavs in Mitchell trade? Everywhere else
Let’s leap around some of the less prominent websites to find some other grades for the Cavs and their acquisition of Donovan Mitchell.
King James Gospel – Josh Cornelissen: B+
Yours truly broke down the trade from all angles, ultimately landing on a B+ grade. The two main concerns are Mitchell leaving in free agency in a few years, as has been mentioned before, and the historic difficulty of winning big with two small guards. Yet this was clearly a good deal for the Cavs, raising their ceiling and floor, and it’s absolutely possible (if still unlikely) that everything comes together and this team becomes “a dynasty.”
FanSided – Josh Wilson: A
Over at the main FanSided site, Josh Wilson broke down the deal in the immediate aftermath. He loved the Cavs’ patience in negotiating and finding a deal that allowed them to keep their core pieces together. He calls the Cavs a “sure-thing” as a competitor and points to other potential moves that could put them over the top. Overall? Wilson writes: “Great deal for the Cavs, instantly injecting their roster with what they need to move forward and consolidating youth power for a star that can get them wins right away.”
Hoops Habit – Dylan Carter: B+
Our sister site Hoops Habit had its own grades for the trade, and newly-installed site expert Dylan Carter landed on a B+ for the Cavs. Carter is concerned that the Cavs have drained their war chest of picks and non-star prospects, because the difficulty of Cleveland as a market will limit their ability to keep the back-end stocked with reliable players. He also shares some of my own hesitancy with the small-small backcourt. That being said, he is largely positive and thinks this is “a good trade for the Cavaliers.”
Factory of Sadness – Chad Porto: Positive
Our final analyst is Chad Porto over at Factory of Sadness. He didn’t give a specific grade for the trade, but he was effusive in his praise of the deal. He spoke for most of Cavs nation in expressing his shock at the deal. He did mention he would have preferred including Caris LeVert instead of Lauri Markkanen, an opinion I agree with, and that finding a way to get back another of Utah’s veterans would have been nice too. Yet ultimately Porto writes that the Cavs “fleeced” the Jazz in the deal and got the better of Jazz executive Danny Ainge.
There are certainly reasons to be concerned about the draft capital given up and the fit of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland defensively, but the positives are overwhelming. The Cavs made a great trade to add a young star on their timetable, and the next few seasons at the very least are going to be incredibly fun to watch. 4/5 experts agree!