The Cleveland Cavaliers made a great move in trading for Donovan Mitchell. It felt like a great move, we called it a great move, and so did experts across the Internet. Mitchell himself went screaming around the golf course in joy when he found out who he was joining.
Yet every reasonable analysis of the deal has to acknowledge the potential downside. What if the defense is untenable for true contention because of the Darius Garland – Mitchell pairing? What if Mitchell leaves in a couple of seasons? How do the Cavs survive without a small forward on the roster?
The Cavs made a great trade for Donovan Mitchell. What are the steps that would take this trade from great to epic and bring home a championship?
What we’re going to do here is look the other way. What if everything goes right? What’s the upside of this trade? The answer to that has to be a championship, or this deal wasn’t worth it. And the reality of having four All-Star level players under contract for multiple seasons and all 26 or under is that the Cavs absolutely can win a title sometime in the next half-decade. In fact, the odds are probably higher than you think that they’ll win one with this core.
What’s the path to get to that championship? Let’s highlight three key steps for this roster to turn them from exciting young team to title winners, starting with the team finding the fifth member of their starting lineup hiding in plain sight.