After endless speculation about where the Utah Jazz would inevitably trade Donovan Mitchell, the Cleveland Cavaliers came out of nowhere and acquired the superstar for a package of Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, three 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
Suffice it to say, Utah are the clear winner of this trade. The Cavs get their third All-Star, which makes them a major force, but the Jazz are set for the future. With more draft capital than they know what to do with and steps in place to acquire even more young talent, it’s safe to say that the Utah Jazz have won the trade and will be a fun team to watch with a clear path moving forward.
Utah Jazz: Hometown team clearly wins the Mitchell trade
Most rebuilding teams are without any semblance of identity and don’t play fun basketball. The Jazz will manage to have both. For starters, Sexton, Markkanen, Vanderbilt, THT, and Walker Kessler can all be electrifying talents on the court. On top of that, with a loaded draft on the way, Utah could easily find a star to build their roster around. The Jazz wanted six picks for Mitchell and fell short of that, but they still run away with this trade.
In this part of our debate series, I take the stance that the Jazz won the trade. I will explore three key reasons that validate my belief that Utah will be better in the long term because of this deal.
Sexton and Markkanen are here to stay
In three full seasons and 11 additional games before suffering a meniscus tear, Collin Sexton has solidified himself as an excellent scorer. When healthy, he is a 38% shooter from deep and can easily average 20 points.
Sexton has never really been the first option, and in Utah, he will fit in perfectly with the committee offense. His defense is fine, and although he is turnover prone, he is a more efficient version of Donovan Mitchell, but he has less volume-scoring capabilities.
Lauri Markkanen had a red-hot first two seasons in Chicago and was one of the league’s brightest stars, being named to the top 25 players under 25 in 2018 and ‘19. As an oversized wing, he can knock down shots from deep and bang around in the paint on defense, making him a lethal weapon alongside Bojan Bogdanocivh as a catch-and-shoot threat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs8C5HzZIfk
Markkanen has three seasons left on his deal, and Sexton just signed a $70 million, four-year deal to stay in Utah.
Sexton’s new $72M deal is fully guaranteed, sources said. https://t.co/V0w6X7WVM2
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 1, 2022
Both players are younger than Donovan Mitchell and would make amazing second and third options if the Jazz can find a superstar in the draft lottery next season.