Donovan Mitchell might walk away from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
That's a difficult truth that the Cavaliers front office has to reckon with. Mitchell has never chosen for himself which team he plays for; he was drafted by the Utah Jazz and traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Whether it's to play in a different city or to team up with certain players, when Mitchell has the opportunity to hit unrestricted free agency, he could decide to leave the Cavaliers.
That clock is ticking, as Mitchell can choose to become a free agent in the summer of 2025. He will be eligible for a contract extension next summer. Mitchell hasn't given any public indication that he desires to leave the Cavaliers, but until he signs a new deal the possibility that he walks stays on the table, becoming more of a probability as time goes on.
The "savvy" move might be to trade Donovan Mitchell now, maximizing the return and moving forward with the rest of their young core. It's also the cold and heartless move, and the only way it happens is if Mitchell indicates he isn't planning to stay in Cleveland long-term, and if another team blows the Cavs away with an offer.
Cavaliers have to be blown away to trade Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell isn't damaged goods. He doesn't have chronic injury concerns. He isn't on an overpriced contract. He isn't playing for a lottery team. The Cavaliers can rightly negotiate from a place of strength, only moving Mitchell for the right trade package.
Popular trade site Fanspo didn't get the memo. They put together a proposed trade that would send Donovan Mitchell to another Eastern Conference team. At risk of spoiling the grade at the end of the piece: their trade is outrageous and the Cavaliers likely hang up the phone immediately upon hearing it.
Let's walk through the deal and analyze it from every angle.
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Reviewing a trade proposal for Donovan Mitchell
Fanspo as a website deserves a lot of credit for building trade machines for multiple sports that are customizable, accurate and easy to use. They allow fans and media members to fully engage with trade season and see what is necessary to make a deal legal.
Where they sometimes struggle is in building the fake trades themselves. That is incredibly clear when you examine one of their latest creations, a deal that would send Donovan Mitchell to the Brooklyn Nets:
The appeal here for the Nets is obvious. They get a bona fide offensive superstar in Donovan Mitchell, a player who has expressed his love for New York City and listed the Nets among his preferred teams when the Jazz were shopping him last year. They get off of the contract of Ben Simmons and use a pair of future picks to make it worth the Cavs' while.
Do they bite? Let's look at this deal from the Cavaliers' angle.
Grading the Trade for the Cavaliers
There are a few things to like about this deal. Dariq Whitehead has been recovering from surgery all season and has played in just one game (for three minutes) but if he gets healthy he has the potential to be a long-term starter on the wing. Cam Thomas is having a breakout season. Two picks on top of two young players is an intriguing trade package for Mitchell, even if it's significantly worse than what the Cavs gave up for him.
The massive albatross in the room, however, is Ben Simmons. The onetime All-NBA point forward has been incapable of resurrecting that point of his career. He played in six games this season, averaging 6.5 points per game and shooting just four total free throws, before he was shut down with ongoing back issues.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a team that wants to win now, so it doesn't make sense for them to take on Simmons' contract given that he is unlikely to have more than a fringe role in Cleveland. He is making $37.9 million next season and $40.3 million the following season. Adding such a deal would absolutely cripple the Cavs' books.
This deal doesn't blow anyone away. It's an attempt for the Nets to dump Simmons' salary to a team that wasn't want to take on salary dumps. There isn't one blue-chop prospect here given Thomas' stature and passing vision and Whitehead's inexperience and injury history. This deal could be a massive whiff.
If the Cavaliers had their future draft picks available to them, and if Simmons was healthy and playing, perhaps they could flip his salary with draft capital for another player. They could try to do that with the two picks they gain in this deal, but that's a massive risk for a team to take. This trade is mediocre at best and likely much, much worse.
Grade: C
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