“That team is gonna go in the tank unless there's like a bus crash” - NBA analyst believes Cleveland Cavaliers have enough star players to build a team around, says landing Mitchell is cherry on the cake
Over the past week, the Cleveland Cavaliers have become one of the hottest teams in basketball. Despite rumors of them bowing out of the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes, they managed to swoop in and land the All-Star in a blockbuster deal.
Spida is a Cavalier 🕷
Welcome to Cleveland, Donovan! https://t.co/HaZ499eIvB
The Cavaliers completely outdid their expectations last year, and now the bar will be set even higher. Between their mix of star power and exciting young players, they have a chance to be a force in the Eastern Conference moving forward.
The Ringer's Bill Simmons believes the Jazz made a huge mistake trading with them instead of the New York Knicks. He recently sounded off in this big misstep by Utah in a recent episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast."
"I want RJ Barrett and I want Knicks picks because I'm betting on the 21st century of the Knicks. Which is that they've sucked every year and they've had two good moments in 22 years. And the ownership's weird and there's a new person running the team every three years.
"Instead I'm betting on the Cleveland picks where you have Mobley and Garland and Jarrett Allen. ... And now I have Mitchell on that team. And there is just no variable now that that team is gonna go in the tank. Unless, there's like a bus crash because they have four guys that they can build around."
Cleveland Cavaliers are in a prime position to contend for the forseeable future
When it comes to stockpiling draft picks, it's hard to disagree with what Bill Simmons said. The New York Knicks have been incompetent for years, and their draft capital is far more valuable than that of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Following this trade, Cleveland will be a playoff team at the bare minimum for the foreseeable future. While the Utah Jazz got multiple picks in the Donovan Mitchell trade, they are likely going to turn out to be late first-rounders.
Adding Mitchell to their promising young core has completely changed the trajectory of the Cavaliers. Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are all All-Star-level talents, and now another explosive talent is entering the fray.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 2022-23. https://t.co/ksDpp9NwPk
It might take some time for the younger players to develop some more. But the Cavaliers should feel great about where they're sitting heading into the 2022-23 season. This could be the first time they are a legitimate contender without LeBron James on the roster.