After months of speculation, the Utah Jazz traded superstar guard Donovan Michell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. New York is in shambles, but that isn’t really our problem. The Jazz received Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, and Ochai Agbaji, as well as three unprotected picks and two pick swaps.
Full trade: Utah is trading Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland for Lauri Markkanen, Ochair Agbaji, Collin Sexton, three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 1, 2022
We suspected that the Jazz would target Collin Sexton, but we failed to predict that Mitchell would be involved in that deal. Agbaji was drafted 14th overall out of Kansas and has a very, very high ceiling in the NBA. He will probably take a few years to pan out, but he could be a very productive NBA player.
The clear winner of this trade is Donovan Mitchell. The superstar guard gets to play along an All-Star in Darius Garland, a Rookie of the Year candidate and defensive anchor in Evan Mobley, promising young talent like Isaac Okoro, and a probable Hall of Famer in Kevin Love. The Jazz have a solid defense, and Mitchell will be the only weak link in the starting five. Now that Garland has his flowers in an All-Star appearance, Mitchell will finally have someone to share the backcourt with, taking some attention away from him.
Utah Jazz: Individual winners and losers of a groundbreaking trade
Garland is also a winner. Sexton is by no means a shabby guard, but Mitchell is a top-20 player in the league. Garland also gets the benefit of playing alongside a star, and their efficiency should both go way up next season.
I also have to say that Lauri Markkanen is a solid winner of this trade. With the addition of Evan Mobley, it was pretty clear that the Cavs were moving away from him even though he spent only one season in Utah. After a hot two first seasons in Chicago, he has regressed to being a solid starter rather than a fringe star. With Walker Kessler and Jared Vanderbilt playing a more traditional power forward/center role, I think Markkanen can go back to being a solid spot-up shooter and third scoring option, which is where he shines the most.
The losers of the trade are Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley. Conley’s tenure in Utah is probably over, as the Jazz will most likely trade him before next summer and opt to give minutes to younger guys. Jordan Clarkson will be pushed behind Sexton and Agbaji in the depth chart, for better and for worse. He may even be traded away, as well. I think this deal will keep the Jazz interesting and fun for the next several years, but maybe not competitive. The three additional picks will probably be past the 20th overall mark, but the odds of finding at least one solid player in that range are decent.
Ochai Agbaji is the most interesting part of this trade, but he is neither a winner nor a loser. His role in his first two seasons in Utah will be similar to what his first few years in Ohio would have looked like. Get plenty of minutes off the bench behind either Garland or Sexton. I doubt he will crack the starting rotation, but since he was picked in the middle of the first round, he could play 25 minutes a game and lead the bench unit.
As a team, it’s harder to say who won and who lost. The Jazz may have been able to get more picks from a different team, but the players they got are a lot more talented and established than what the Knicks were offering.