131 days ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the world by trading for Donovan Mitchell.
It wasn’t a surprise that Mitchell was traded; the Utah Jazz, slowly spiraling towards the end after consecutive playoff disasters, had decided to tear things down and rebuild. Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a massive haul, and it was a forgone conclusion that Mitchell would be next.
What was surprising was the team that ultimately landed Mitchell. For months it was expected that the New York Knicks would land the talented guard. Instead, the Knicks held back some preferred assets and the Cavs swooped in and made the deal: Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, three unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps, all headed to Utah for Donovan Mitchell.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz made a big trade four months ago.
Here is what we wrote at the time when analyzing the deal: “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.”
It’s still way too early to make any conclusions about this deal, and what happens in the playoffs — not just this season but for many years to come — will truly define it. Yet as Mitchell prepares to play in Utah tonight for his first return to the city he starred in, and with half of a season in the rear mirror, it’s the right time to take a look back at the trade.
Let’s look at both Utah and Cleveland and determine how this trade should be graded with a sprinkle of hindsight. We’ll start with Utah, who lost an All-Star but may have gained one in return.
Regrading Cavaliers trade with Jazz: Lauri Markkanen is a star
On September 1st, when the Utah Jazz traded Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers, they looked like a team destined to tank this season in hopes of drafting Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson. When viewed through that lens, it looked like a good move at the time for the Jazz, who got control of five straight drafts from the Cavs along with some decent talent.
Instead of tanking, however, the Jazz discovered that one of those players they added is a lot better than they or anyone thought. After four disappointing years in Chicago Markkanen joined the Cavs in 2021-22, starting as a jumbo 3 and playing well but not distinguishing himself.
Now in Utah, Markkanen is a star, putting up career-best numbers for a team playing better than expected. The 7-foot Markkanen is averaging 24.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, hitting 41.5 percent of his 7.2 3-point attempts per game.
Collin Sexton was the other big fish from a player standpoint, and he is having a good season as the primary scorer off the bench for the Jazz. He’s putting up 14.1 points per game and shooting a solid 38.6 percent from deep. Ochai Agbaji, a rookie out of Kansas, has only played 194 minutes total but has flashed some of his shot-making in the last couple of weeks.
Regrading Cavaliers trade with Jazz: Donovan Mitchell will get MVP votes
Three teams made blockbuster trades this summer. The Minnesota Timberwolves sent an exorbitant haul of players and picks to the Jazz for Rudy Gobert, and their twin-centers have had a rocky beginning. The Atlanta Hawks sent a few first-rounders to the San Antonio Spurs for Dejounte Murray for a two-guard pairing with Trae Young, but the Hawks have disappointed as their offense has slipped.
The concern for the Cleveland Cavaliers was that they would have similar problems: a middling team acted too early to add a star, and a star at the same position as one of their incumbent stars. Yet what has happened has been that Darius Garland has ceded the top role to Donovan Mitchell, and Mitchell has responded with an MVP-level season.
The pinnacle of that season was his 71-point explosion against the Chicago Bulls last week, but Mitchell has been lighting it up all year. He is averaging a career-best 28.8 points per game and canning 40.5 percent of his 3-pointers, also a career-high. His defense has been better than perhaps it has ever been in the NBA.
Mitchell playing so well right now gives hope that he can elevate to the top-10 player in the playoffs that you need to reach and win the NBA Finals. He also seems to love playing in Cleveland, and if he enjoys his teammates and is winning at a high level that increases the chance that he stays around when his contract is up.
Regrading Cavaliers trade with Jazz: Final Grades
Ochai Agbaji and Collin Sexton are probably about the same value-wise as they were this summer, but there is no question that Lauri Markkanen looks like a much more valuable player 43 games into the season. The flip side is that the Cavaliers have looked so good, so quickly, that they project as a high-win team for quite a few years. Still, the explosion of Markkanen as an offensive hub makes this move even more of a win for Utah.
Jazz Final Grade: A
The Cavaliers look like a fringe title contender now, and that’s before they get an offseason to continue building around this core. The better the Cavs are, the more likely Donovan Mitchell stays in Cleveland, and that reduces the value of the first-round picks they sent to Utah. It’s hard to find a way this trade could have gone better for the Cavs thus far. It’s somewhat boring, but this trade gets a top grade from both sides right now.
Cavs Final Grade: A