Donovan Mitchell traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for multiple players and first round picks

It’s official: the Utah Jazz are embracing the tank for the 2022-2023 NBA season. Donovan Mitchell has been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It appears the haul was slightly smaller than the one for Rudy Gobert in terms of picks, but with higher upside players such as Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton alongside 2022 #14 draft pick Ochai Agbaji in the mix.

With the Knicks playing hardball and the extension of RJ Barrett making things trickier, it seems that Danny Ainge and co. had enough and took Cleveland’s offer. Just a reminder of all of the assets that were accrued this offseason with the trade of the Jazz’s biggest stars:

While this may make Utah’s immediate future a lower-win team, it’s clear that Danny Ainge, Justin Zanik, and Ryan Smith have their eyes on the biggest prize: building a true championship-contending team.

As far as Donovan Mitchell, this is obviously not the destination he had hoped for (either in New York or Miami) so there has to be some disappointment, but he is going to a fantastic situation in Cleveland. They have a young core of all-stars that will compete for years now with a backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. That is as fun as any backcourt in the league. Combine that with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley? Now you have a core that will be competitive for a long time. Mitchell could have such a great time in Cleveland, he may decide to stay there long term.

Finally, let’s take a chance to send a fond farewell to trade negotiations with Leon Rose and the New York Knicks. You didn’t want to include Grimes or the unprotected picks Ainge asked for. Hopefully that works out for you, although it may work out like it has the last 20 years. I guess we’ll see. As for the Jazz, they’ll be enjoying picks from Cleveland for a long while.

What an impressive offseason for the Jazz.