NBA Rumors: Close relationship between Jazz and Cavs' general manager helped trade for 3x All-Star
The end of the 2022 NBA offseason was last week, as Donovan Mitchell was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Utah, deadset on revamping their roster, have traded their All-Star duo of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. In return, they have received several young players and multiple draft picks.
The full haul the Jazz got for Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert:
Malik Beasley
Leandro Bolmaro
Walker Kessler (No.22 pick)
Jarred Vanderbilt
Collin Sexton
Lauri Markkanen
Ochai Agbaji (No.14 pick)
Talen Horton-Tucker
Stanley Johnson
7 1st round picks
3 1st round picks swaps https://t.co/PVFkvzqYeP
On the HoopsHype podcast, Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor elaborated on the intangibles of the Cleveland-Utah trade and the relationship between their general managers:
"They (Zanik and Altman) have a personal and working relationship. Of all the executives around the NBA, I think Koby is probably closest to Zanik."
"The two organizations have done multiple trades in the past. Having that foundation of working with each other in the past, I think helped this."
"Three weeks ago, Koby went to Justin saying, 'Is there a package you like from us enough that doesn’t include Garland, Mobley, or Allen?' Build something there, and they’d see if there was a path to getting something done."
Predicting top teams in the East for the 2022-23 NBA season
The top teams in the East last season included the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Ben Simmons fiasco created problems for the 76ers. The Nets had issues with Kyrie Irving and James Harden. The Heat added Kyle Lowry, only for him to have one of the worst seasons of his career.
The loss of P.J. Tucker has come as a big blow to the Heat, considering they still haven't been able to find a suitable power-forward.
So, going into the 2022-23 NBA season, what could the standings look like? Considering last season's standings, here is a prediction for next season.
The table below shows the 2022 standings, with the columns on the right showing 2023 predictions and the net change from last season. For simplicity, only predictions for the top-ten teams are listed.