Regrading the Donovan Mitchell-Lauri Markkanen trade

The Cavs Grade

For Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell is a guard, also lethal attacking anywhere on the court. He is only eight-and-a-half months older than Markkanen too.

Mitchell was the bus driver for 2022-2023, the best season the Cavaliers had since LeBron James left in 2018. Between October and April, he averaged 28.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 83 percent of the team’s games. He was arguably the best player at his position for that time, but he wasn’t as good in the playoffs, missing shots he made all season against drop coverage.

Defensively, he wasn’t sharp either, getting beat by the handler and, because he is undersized, was caught in mismatches.

The Cavaliers improved by seven wins (51) in the regular season, earning fourth place in the East. A quick end at the hands of the New York Knicks has heavily weighted Cleveland’s re-grading.

Cavs Grade: C

Considering what the outfit gave up for Spida and its underwhelming exit from the playoffs, an appropriate mark is a C.

If only this were as simple as picking one star over the other. That’s a question of basketball taste, but in reality, the extras in the exchange plunge the scale to the side of Utah here.