5 Cleveland Cavaliers that could be traded this season
Wild Card: Donovan Mitchell
The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t want to trade Donovan Mitchell. They sold the farm in 2022 to bring aboard the talented guard, and he responded with an All-NBA season. He raises their offensive floor and ceiling and is the kind of competitor every team wants around.
If Mitchell indicates he won’t sign an extension, however, whether that’s during this season or directly after it, the Cavaliers may have no choice but to entertain a trade. If so, what kind of a return would even make sense for Mitchell? There’s no chance that he will bring back a similar package as the Utah Jazz got for him; that ship has sailed. Do the Cavs look for win-now help, or try to restock the cupboard with future draft picks?
It’s hard to envision a scenario where Mitchell makes it clear that he won’t re-sign in Cleveland during the year; the season would essentially have to be over for the ultra-competitive Mitchell to do anything but stay focused on winning basketball games in Cleveland for this season. If there is a Mitchell trade, which is still a massive “if”, it will almost certainly come next summer.
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Stranger things have happened, and players become available all of the time in surprising ways and on surprising timetables. Still, if the Cleveland Cavaliers make a trade this season, it will almost certainly involve one of the five players listed above rather than Donovan Mitchell leaving The Land.