The Cavaliers began talking to the Jazz about a possible Donovan Mitchell trade around the time of the Las Vegas Summer League, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber-only link). Fedor classifies those initial discussions as “unproductive,” noting that the Cavs felt Utah’s asking price was too high. However, he says the two teams reengaged about two weeks ago, then reached another impasse last week before general manager Koby Altman reconnected with Jazz GM Justin Zanik on Tuesday morning.
Multiple members of the Cavaliers’ front office believed that New York or another team rich on draft assets was capable of making stronger offer than Cleveland could, says Fedor. But those offers didn’t come, and the Jazz opted to accept the Cavs’ proposal.
While there are minor concerns about Mitchell’s “score-first mentality” and the size of Cleveland’s new-look backcourt, the three-time All-Star represents a major upgrade in talent for the Cavaliers, Fedor writes, adding that Mitchell – who will be 26 next Wednesday – also perfectly fits the club’s timeline. The Cavs ultimately decided to risk taking a big swing, feeling as if the opportunity was too good to pass up.
Here’s more out of Cleveland:
- The Cavaliers weren’t one of the teams reported to be on Mitchell’s list of preferred landing spots, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on the Hoop Collective podcast that the longtime Jazz star was “very excited” when he found out he was headed to Cleveland and that the Cavs weren’t giving up any of their stars in the deal.
- Also in that same Hoop Collective podcast, Windhorst noted that the acquisition of Mitchell will likely make Evan Mobley ineligible for a five-year maximum-salary extension during the 2024 offseason. Teams are only allowed to have two of those “designated rookie” extensions on their books at once, and Mitchell and Darius Garland (both of whom signed designated rookie extensions) will still be under contract when Mobley becomes extension-eligible. Mobley would still be eligible to sign a four-year maximum-salary extension in 2024, or he could wait until restricted free agency in 2025 and sign a five-year max deal at that time.
- One “prominent” Eastern Conference coach told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports that he believes the addition of Mitchell will help the Cavs unlock Mobley’s offensive upside. “You’re not throwing the ball down to him much anyways,” the coach said. “But a two-man game with either guard in the middle or side (pick-and-roll) will be tough.”
- Even with Mobley, Garland, and Jarrett Allen still improving, some members of the Cavs organization were worried that the roster wasn’t strong enough to evolve into a legitimate contender in a tough Eastern Conference, which helped pave the way for the acquisition of Mitchell, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.
- Cleveland’s trade for Mitchell is a statement deal, according to Kelsey Russo of The Athletic, who says it shows the Cavs are no longer content with being plucky young upstarts.
- A panel of ESPN insiders breaks down the Mitchell trade, debating where the Mitchell/Garland backcourt duo ranks in the East and evaluating Cleveland’s ceiling following the deal.
Raise your hand if you think LeBron will try going back to the Cavs sometime in the future once they start winning in the playoffs.
As it stands the Cavs are pretty thin at the 3
Which means they are shirt at the 4 as well. The number 2’s have to carry the team along with Allen and Mobley.
@Arc
he’s already committed for 2 years in LA and he’s made it clear ether he wants to be afterwards. Where his boys are. And please stop making it sound like he joins a team just when they start to get better. that wasn’t the case with any of the teams he joined.
I’m sure LeBron has slotted himself into that lineup already but as it is he can’t go back to Cleveland and in anyway improve his legacy, if he did any championships he added to his legacy would only tarnish it.
LeBron has to win in LA, might take him five more seasons, he’ll put that scoring record out of reach, and a few others too, and if he wins a ring in LA he’ll top Kobe, if he adds two he’ll trump Mike, because that ring in the bubble is kind of like a tiebreaker.
Mike – 6
Kobe – 5
LeBron – 4 w/ the tiebreaker
Mr. Russel on line one.
He rejoined the Cavs when they got better. He joined the heat when they were making a super team. So he did join them when getting better. We just disagree on LeBron jumping ship to another team. Lebron loves winning more than anything else.
Lebron loves winning more than anything else
The Lakers suck
LBJ just inked (ext) his 39/40 year old season to be on the Lakers
You can’t have your cake and …….
Pick a lane my man
Can’t take anything away from LeBron for his days in Miami or his return to Cleveland.
the three championships in Miami, the four finals and the Championship in Cleveland, all should be remembered as great teams and successes, yet to be seen if the LeBron Lakers will go down in history as a success in terms of winning a championship, but I’d say even if LeBron doesn’t win in LA and retires a Laker that it’s a success in terms of him not chasing a championship with another team simply because the team in place potentially has a better shot of winning than LeBron’s Lakers do. LeBron can’t bail on LeBron’s Lakers.
So cap you are saying Lebron #1 priority is not winning but a paycheck? Lakers are best a #9 seed in play in tournament if there is no injuries. There is 8 teams better then the lakers in the west right now. That is a fact.
No, Im saying (that your saying yourself) your full of BS –
You have stated now in this tiny tiny thread
-Lebron loves winning more than anything else.
&
-Lakers are best a #9 seed in play in tournament if there is no injuries.
Pick a lane my dude, your a walking contradiction spurred by emotion. Just try and be logical, you can still have your likes and dislikes but it helps nobody being all over the map, it makes your opinions hard to take serious from any outside eyes
@Arc
Dude stop cap’n. He was the LEADER of the Big 3. His idea and he was the main piece. It wasn’t like Bosh had been thrre a season before and then he came. They all came together at thrre same time. He rejoined the Cavs when they won 33 games. He convinced Kevin Love to agree to the trade and took the Cavs from 33 wins to 53 wins and in the finals. He joined the Lakers after 5 consecutive seasons of 35 wins or less and brought them AD the next season.
Lebron has always loved him some Lebron. Look back to his high school team and a yellow hummer.
No, he waited until the dumpster fire Was reaching him before bailing out each time.
Raise your hand if you think the Cavaliers are better then the Hawks.
Cleveland had an opportunity to take a big swing at a young star to add to a core of young star players. No reason for Cleveland to not be all in with the move. Part of rebuilding is putting yourself in this exact position. They have an intriguing mix of players that could get very interesting with an additional tweak or two.
Cleveland is not a free agent destination. The opportunity to take advantage of an opening and win a trade like this is all they can ask for.
It’s a pickem series at this point.
Id say its pretty close but the addition of DJ murray is going to help immensely with atlantas defense which was really one of the main things holding them back from a strong playoff performance. While mitchell does add instant offense to the cavs, they are very inexperienced in the playoffs as it stands.
Cleveland is now a full notch above Atlanta.
I am taking Jarrett Allen/Evan Mobley over Clint Capela/John Collins all day everyday on BOTH ends of the floor!
I would also take Garland/Mitchell over Young/Murray. I think Garland is the best player of the four with Mitchell coming in second. If you think Mitchell’s defense is bad …. Have you seen Trae “i am the worst defensive player in the NBA” Young????
Cleveland is now in the Eastern tier with Toronto and Philadelphia. They are still slightly behind Boston, not ready for Brooklyn or Milwaukee. A full notch above Chicago and Atlanta. Neither Chicago nor Atlanta would win more than 2 games in a 7 game series vs. Cleveland currently.
Your Father was one hell of a player but his basketball knowledge apparently wasn’t genetic. The Mitchell trade hardly elevates this Cavaliers team to the Sixers level much less the Raptors. Defensively lacking as well bench depth my friend.Durt u are correct playoff experience is HUGE.
I’d rather be the Cavs than the Raptors or Hawks. Trae is a liability on D whereas Mitchell has the body just needs to recommit. Mobley and Allen play great together. Don’t get me wrong, Siakam is better than Mitchell (not by much), but Cleveland still can make moves. Their roster isn’t done, but their core will make them top 5 behind, Milwaukee, Miami, Boston, and Philadelphia. So if either of those teams get hurt, Cleveland could move up. They’re Memphis East
@Odd
Cavs defense ranked 7th last year, mainly because of Mobley and Allen. They should still be a top 10 defensive team despite the guards who contributed nothing towards the defense last year too.
I will take the Atlanta side of that idea for all you can handle.
Than the Hawks? Yikes, not even close. Cavs way better.
link to m.youtube.com … smh yall have short memories. This was the last game Cleveland played.
Imo, Cavs took a step backwards. Their defense took a leap from 25th to 7th because of Mobley, Allen and to a small extent, Markannen being able to move about outside the post and dissuade guys from easy pathways to the basket. Less responsibilities in the post allowed him to play loosely. Offensively, the 7t trio were a +10 per 100 possessions and Markannen surprised me with his shooting and cutting to the basket aggressively. He looked comfortable and had chemistry with Garland. Love also seemed to mentor him. I felt plugging Sexton in at SG would’ve given them an awesome lift as their OffRtng lingered at bottom 5. But I could see 40-50 from Sexland and 50 from the three 7fters. That’s 90-100 from your starting 5. A bench of Love, Rubio, Okorro, Agbaji, Osman or whomever would’ve been at least another 15 points. In terms of points on the board there isn’t much of an upgrade between Mitchell scoring 26 on 20 shots opposed to Sexton’s 24 point of 18 shots. But now there’s no more Markannen, at SG to give the team a huge lineup and we have up Agbaji who some felt could swing between SG/SF ang give us great outside shooting and great promoter defense. Now, Garland and Mitchell are basically our lone outside shooters in the station lineup. Well….. we’ll see.
Cleveland is far closer to being a true title contender today than they were before the trade. They have a lot of pieces. Maybe they ultimately don’t keep both big men? They could be a major move away from tweaking the roster to a championship level. The deal was available, and I find it hard to fault them for pulling the trigger.
Your boy Sexton is a HUGE winner! Another rebuild! Fresh contract.
@Very
Sometimes I feel like this is a scene out of Moneyball where the fat kid hits a homerun and doesn’t realize it. The combination of Allen, Mobley and Allen worked!! The defense shot from a DefRtg that had them 25th to 7th. The possessions per 100 of the threesome was a +9. Markannen, defensive limitations and all looked good. I think he was going to be a Kevin Love with half as many rebounds. He was moving off the ball. Cutting to the basket. Pick and roll, pick and pop and he had a surprising amount of strong finishes at the rim. I get it, the Cavs wanted a legit star but in terms of points, what’s the net gain on the floor between Mitchell vs Sexton, Markannen, Agbaji and 3 unprotected picks?
Just imagine….
Garland/Sexton/Markannen/Mobley/Allen with Agbaji, Okorro, Levert, Osman, Rubio, Love and others off the ball. Your oldest starter would be Markannen at 25!!! I just wish I could see then play for at least 45 games.
Wait until you see them. A lot of NBA fans have strong opinions about Mitchell having seen him play once or twice. Unless you’re a fan of a western conference team and watch him regularly, you don’t know what he does to a defense. He’s unguardable at times. And the Cavs are the perfect place for him since they have not one but TWO shot erasers behind him for when he “forgets” to play defense. This is a monster team if they can stay healthy. But that’s a big if because they’re thin as hell.
Don’t forget that Mitchell was a plus defender in college. He’s short but he has the length to be disruptive on D. With Garland in backcourt to help with creation maybe he can tap back into that.
They are a little thin, most noticeably at the 3 and they don’t really have answer for that on the current roster. They’ll have depth in backcourt once Rubio’s back and they can mitigate the lack of depth down low by staggering the minutes of Mobley and Allen to make sure one of them is on the court at all times. Wade, Osman and Love lack defensively but can stretch the floor.
Cavs lost their two SGs according to you lol.
A 7’ and a 6’ ……. That’s funny
Sexton will never be half the player Mitchell is now. And Okoro is a better fit wit the two bigs. Cavs do need more bench scoring though. Cavs cause of their youth and unfamiliarity. Could become a top 4 team next yr. This team got plenty talent. Be happy
Okoro is gonna practice corner 3s 24/7
Exactly.
Top 5 team in the league
I’ve got a bridge to sell, interested?
I love that the Cavs made this trade, but I do believe that we will miss Lauri. He played solidly for us at SF, and his height was great for us. He will do well in Utah!
I think Markkanen will be a nice pickup for whatever contender trades a 1st for him at the deadline.
Jazz wiped the Cavs out with that trade.
It’s possible the Cavs will be in the lottery when those picks and swaps cash in.
Either way the Jazz stockpiled a war chest of picks and they replaced the players they traded with players that have the potential to be as good or better than the players they traded.
How this is even possible is mind blowing to me, I mean a few first round picks and the players they added would have been good in trade but eight firsts and a handful of seconds and pick swaps to boot, kudos to the Jazz.
Is it Kudos tho? They had won the 2nd most games over the last 5 years in the Western Conf and now have their destiny tied to some ping pong balls…
It isn’t that hard to trade 2 young All stars in Rudy and DM …drum up some interest, leverage, yada yada boring boring .
Did Danny squeeze the lemons better than the avg bear…perhaps, but this (Okc ) stuff isn’t necessarily all that complex or commendable Imo…..did it have to happen, idk/maybe …..doe’s it deserve a round of applause…Imo NO
The real journey for Danny has yet to happen
I guess it all depends on how you evaluate the players they got in return for the players they traded.
I personally think Donovan Mitchell’s success at least partially has to be attributed to his situation in Utah and the construction of that team, their offense and how well he fit in that role as a combo guard and the primary option on offense.
He’s on a new team now, Darius Garland is a different player than Mike Connelly, Evan Mobley is a different player than Rudy Gobert, the offense will be different and whose to say that Collin Sexton isn’t as good of an athlete and a player as Donovan Mitchell? Both are still early in their careers and Sexton has been hurt.
Evaluate Walker Kessler, he only played two seasons in college but was recruited by all the blue chip programs, is 7’1 245 lbs. as a twenty year old, shot .60 percent from the floor and averaged 4.5 blocks per game at Auburn. How is that makeup any different than the player Gobert is? Only difference is Kessler has yet to prove it in the league and Gobert has proven it in the league but to say that Kessler doesn’t have Gobert type of upside would be lacking an understanding of his potential.
The Jazz sold high on two all star caliber players, but I think they improved their roster in terms of a three to five year window. I think in the ’22/’23 season they’ll be as good as they were last season, and they added eight first round picks in the off season.
I just don’t know if it was all warranted. Nobody does really outside DA ….. Was Rudy and DM not workable anymore?
Could they have hedged holding the one they wanted and still competed?
Was this just a scorch the Earth I’m Danny friggin Ainge this will be ALL my show moving forward ?
Was he just dipping his toes into the market looking to see if he got overpays and did (in his opinion ) ?
I think Ainge is a good GM no doubt, I just don’t think we know the motives enough to properly access everything. It’s NOT hard to trade your best players and tank. I will clap IF, big IF, Danny gets this team back to a top 4 team every year in 2~3 years like you suggest, like they WERE just at…… hell I’ll get out my seat and give a standing ovation
@Cap – Excellent post. Demolition is sometimes needed, but it’s not a cause for celebration.
That’s kind of wild you see it this way. Spida is a top 20-25 player in the NBA. He’s a play-off beast. He did what he did on a very good team. Sexton put up very solid numbers on lottery teams. Big difference in players.
The swaps they got from Cleveland isn’t likely to convey since the Jazz are expected to have the far worse team for the foreseeable future. The other 3 first rounders are expected to be in the 20’s. The Cavs gave up Sexton who they clearly didn’t value all that much, a solid rotational piece in Lauri and a low ceiling rookie in Abaji for a player that’s made 3 consecutive All-Star appearances, still in his prime and under contract for the next 3 seasons. This was an A grade trade for the Cavs. Solid B trade for Utah.
Cleveland will be really good for the next 8 years! They may become a dynasty!