Ranking the Cavaliers’ top 13 trade assets for 2023-24
Cavaliers’ trade asset No. 3: Darius Garland
It’s something of a coin flip ranking the next two players. Darius Garland is one of the league’s best point guards, he is just 23 years old and starting a new long-term contract, and his shooting and passing make him a fit with nearly any team in the league. Garland would almost certainly net multiple first-round picks and good young talent, perhaps not to the level of Donovan Mitchell last offseason but something close.
Cavaliers’ trade asset No. 2: Evan Mobley
Evan Mobley is younger than Garland and has two-way upside that Garland does not. It’s more likely that he is never as good of an offensive player as Garland, but it’s at least possible, and defensively he is already one of the 10 best in the entire league. He would net a larger return than anyone else from his draft class, and while there is no way the Cavs would trade him, he would hypothetically return a massive trade package on the open market.
Cavaliers’ trade asset No. 1: Donovan Mitchell
Donovan Mitchell was traded less than a year ago for three first-round picks, two first-round pick swaps, a lottery rookie in Ochai Agbaji and two talented former top-10 picks in Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen. Since then he has had the best season of his career, finished sixth in MVP voting and is almost certainly worth more now on the open market than he was last summer.
6 best moves the Cavaliers made during Koby Altman era. dark. Next
The Cavaliers are going to seek out trades on the open market to upgrade their team, but they won’t trade one of their core stars to do it. They will use the rest of their assets to search for the best deal, and whether the rest of the league values their picks and players enough will likely determine whether that upgrade is the difference in competing for a title.