"Finally they have a good team and no LeBron", "He escaped a bad team situation AND a bad uniform situation" - Reddit reacts to the Cleveland Cavaliers welcoming Donovan Mitchell
Unless the LA Lakers trade Russell Westbrook before training camp, Donovan Mitchell's move was the final domino to fall this offseason. The Utah Jazz traded away Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The trade brought the Jazz three future first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029), two pick swaps (2026, 2028), guard Colin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and the Cavaliers' first-round pick in 2022, Kansas' Ochai Agbaji.
The trade came as a surprise to fans, analysts and even NBA front-offices, seeing as the Knicks had been touted as the clear favorites to acquire Mitchell. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported on the trade.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired Donovan Mitchell in a trade, sources tell ESPN.
Wojnarowski further detailed how the state of talks between the New York Knicks and the Jazz fell through in his article, stating:
"New York had the assets Utah preferred and the sides seemed to be inching closer to a trade Sunday night and into Monday, but the Knicks balked on including Quentin Grimes in a trade with RJ Barrett to acquire Mitchell, sources said." (via) ESPN
In dispatching both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz now sit on seven future first-round picks and three pick-swaps.
A pick-swap is essentially an exchange of draft picks depending on which is higher in the draft order. For instance, if the Cavs have the 11th overall pick in the 2026 draft and the Jazz have the 15th, the Jazz will swap the picks and draft at number 11.
R/NBA reacted to the Cavaliers officially announcing Mitchell's arrival, sending in hilarious takes.
Donovan Mitchell's trade is a win-win situation
The Utah Jazz have been vying for the draft capital all offseason and were rewarded with the same in the trade that sent their All-Star guard to Cleveland.
The Knicks called Jazz' bluff and extended RJ Barrett's contract. However, they were left empty handed with $220 million invested in two players who have yet to prove their mettle in the league.
Both Brunson and Barrett are yet to be accorded honors at the NBA level. Neither received All-Rookie honors in their rookie seasons or an All-Star, All-NBA or All-Defensive appearance since.
However, the prevailing sentiment ever since the news broke has been that Mitchell is much better off in Cleveland than in New York.
The backcourt with Garland and Mitchell's obvious downfall is the severe lack of defense. However the twin-tower duo of Jarrett Allen at the four and Evan Mobley at the five picks up a significant amount of that slack.