Grade the Trade: Cavaliers deal Mitchell in bombastic three-team pitch

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a lot of things to consider in a potential Donovan Mitchell trade.

The first thing, of course, is whether or not they want to even entertain the possibility of dealing him. It's incredibly difficult for a market like Cleveland to add star talent, and they generally have to draft such a player (or have him return to your city because he happened to be born there). Donovan Mitchell is at worst a Top-20 players, likely Top-15, and those players are hard to come by. Trade Mitchell now, and it may be a decade before they have another.

What would it take to trade for Donovan Mitchell?

If the Cavaliers are going to entertain a Mitchell trade, however, they come to the difficulty of how to replace everything they would lose by moving him. Darius Garland would need to step into the No. 1 role, but his usage will likely only increase marginally. Who will take a high volume of 3-pointers? Who will create offense off-the-dribble?

Yet trading Mitchell for a player who replicates everything he does, just at a lower level (otherwise, why do the trade?) doesn't make sense for the Cavs unless they are upgrading elsewhere in their lineup. They could take back draft picks instead of win-now help, but this is a team that wants to continue competing. Getting two high-quality players back for Mitchell might be enough to grease the skids.

What might such a trade look like? Let's dive into one three-team trade recently proposed online that brings back two solid veteran players. Does it work for the Cavaliers? And what are the chances it actually occurs? Let's take a closer look.