This past season, the Cleveland Cavaliers exceeded expectations. Nobody expected them to be in contention for a playoff spot. Had the Cavs not lost eight of 11 games down the stretch, which coincided with key injuries, they would have positioned themselves to make the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Instead, they wound up in the play-in tournament. After last season’s unexpected success, the Cavs saw an opportunity to change the narrative and seized it.
Though they didn’t get out of the play-in tournament, courtesy of losses to the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland General Manager Koby Altman saw the potential for his team to make noise, and he took it by trading for Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell. In exchange for Mitchell, the Cavaliers traded: Collin Sexton (in a sign and trade), Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji (the Cavs’ 14th pick in this year’s draft), three unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029), and two pick swaps (2026 and 2028).
The Cleveland Cavaliers swooped in and traded for Donovan Mitchell. The potential implications of this trade could be absolutely MASSIVE.
After trading long-time center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason, it was clear that the Utah Jazz were hitting the big red button with black and yellow stripes and going into rebuild mode. This triggered questions about All-Star Donovan Mitchell. If he was going to be traded, where would he go? If the Gobert trade netted the Jazz all the assets that it did, what kind of assets would Mitchell, who’s a three-time All-Star, fetch them?
As the offseason wore on, it became apparent that Mitchell was likely to be traded. Since Mitchell is from the New York area, he seemed destined to spend next season on Broadway with the New York Knicks. The stars appeared to be aligning for Mitchell to end up at “The World’s Most Famous Arena” – Madison Square Garden – until the Cavaliers came calling. Mitchell will now play at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland.
In a previous article, I proposed the idea of the Cavaliers making a trade for one of two star guards, Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz or Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards. Down the stretch this past season, there were way too many situations where it felt like Darius Garland had to do everything. Not having that second playmaker in the backcourt to relieve Garland wore on him down the stretch. Garland’s offensive burden was most evident in a 98-94 loss to the Chicago Bulls at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on March 26, 2022. Garland scored 28 points, but nobody else scored more than 20. Caris LeVert was the closest as he scored 17 points.
Going into that game, the two teams were neck-and-neck in the Eastern Conference standings, jockeying for playoff position. As the Cavaliers tried to climb back into the game, it felt like Darius Garland had to wear the burden of doing the ball handling and lead the team in scoring. So, by the time the Cavs were within striking distance in the final two minutes, Garland had been worn down and couldn’t carry the Cavs over the finish line.
After the trade Koby Altman pulled off, Garland won’t have to carry that burden alone anymore. As stated earlier, the Jazz were clearly hitting the big red button with black and yellow stripes. Altman pulled the trigger and traded for an All-Star, and one could make an argument that he’s a superstar: guard Donovan Mitchell.
With Donovan Mitchell in the fold, the Cavaliers have four potential All-Stars on their team. Though Evan Mobley didn’t make it to the All-star game last season, he’s most likely going to this season. Thus, he can still be included in the conversation. Given that they were in the Play-in Tournament last season, the addition of Mitchell makes the Cavs a bigger contender in the Eastern Conference.
The East is loaded with legitimate title contenders. The Boston Celtics represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals this past season. The Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Finals in 2021. The Brooklyn Nets were able to convince Kevin Durant to drop his trade request and run it back with Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. The Miami Heat were the No.1 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs this past season. The Philadelphia 76ers, the Cavaliers’ biggest rival after last season, have a formidable dynamic duo in Joel Embiid (who should’ve won MVP last season) and James Harden. The Atlanta Hawks (the Cavs second biggest rival after Philly) made a backcourt upgrade of their own by trading for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray. The Bulls are bringing back Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vučević. The Cavs can throw their weight around with these teams following the Mitchell trade.
Much like the AFC in the NFL, the Eastern Conference is going to be a gauntlet this season. When the Celtics made it to the NBA Finals against the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors (the team the Cavaliers were fixated on for four years), Boston earned that appearance. By no means was it handed to them on a silver platter. If the Cavs want to avoid the play-in tournament and get into the actual playoffs, they’ll have to jump over some formidable teams.
With Donovan Mitchell in tow to pair with Garland in the starting backcourt and Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen up front protecting the basket, the Cavs have a great opportunity to jump ahead of some of those teams and get into the NBA Playoffs. Hopefully, they would match up with the Philadelphia 76ers in Round 1.
However, the Cavaliers do have a problem. While they have a formidable combination at the center and power forward and a dynamic duo at point guard and shooting guard, they don’t have a legitimate small forward. Given the size and talent at the small forward position in the Eastern Conference, which boasts Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kris Middleton, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Jimmy Butler, and Kevin Durant, that could be a really big problem.
Now, the Cavaliers can combat this issue because both Garland and Mitchell have the ability to put up 30+ points in their sleep. If the Cavs need Allen and Mobley to contribute 15-20 points, they’re more than capable of doing that. So, that could offset the lack of a small forward and get the Cavaliers over the hump and into the playoffs.
With Mitchell in tow, the Jazz were able to make the playoffs a few times. In 2021, the Jazz secured the No.1 seed in the Western Conference going 52-20 with a .722 winning percentage, although they got bounced in the second round by the Los Angeles Clippers in six hard-fought games. Despite not having a tremendous amount of postseason success, Mitchell can pass on the knowledge of what it’s like to play in the playoffs to the young Cavaliers.
Without Mitchell, the Cavaliers were top three in the Eastern Conference at the All-star Break. The potential for the trio of Garland, Allen, and Mobley was very apparent and the rest of the league was put on notice. With Koby Altman swinging for the fences, it shows that he wants to take last season’s potential and turn it into a reality. If this group stays together, maybe a second championship banner will be hung from the rafters of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.