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One Year Later: Grading the Donovan Mitchell trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers

By Chad Porto

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 15: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the U.S. Team defends Lauri Markkanen #24 of the World Team during the 2019 Mtn Dew ICE Rising Stars at Spectrum Center on February 15, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 15: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the U.S. Team defends Lauri Markkanen #24 of the World Team during the 2019 Mtn Dew ICE Rising Stars at Spectrum Center on February 15, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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 How did the Utah Jazz do with the Donovan Mitchell trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers?

It’s been over a year since the Utah Jazz decided to blow up its team and trade Bojan Bogdanovic to the Detroit Pistons, Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And after covering Bogdanvoic’s trade, and Gobert’s trade, it’s time we tackled the biggest one of all; Mitchell to the Cavaliers.

Trade Recap

The Cavaliers gave up a lot to just get back Mitchell. That included future All-Star Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, and five total first-round draft picks. Three unprotected in ’25, ’27, and ’29, and then two swaps, where the Jazz can switch places with the Cavs if Cleveland has a higher spot in ’26 and ’28.

Giving up Sexton, Agbaji and the picks was a lot but adding on Markkanen was the wrong move for the Cavs, as they opted to over-pay Max Strus to replace him. For the Jazz, Markkanen is likely to be the focal point of the team going forward, assuming Markkanen wants to stay in Salt Lake City.

2022-2023 season results

The Cavs were the only team the Jazz did business with in the 2022 offseason to see an improvement, as the Cavs went from 44 wins to 51 wins. The Timberwolves went from 46 wins to 42 wins, and the Pistons went from 23 wins to 17 wins. The Cavs were able to secure the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference side of the NBA Playoffs and took on the New York Knicks in a series they were believed to be able to win.

They lost four games to one. Mitchell also choked in the series, shooting an abysmal 28.9% from three on nine attempts; the most on the team. He also had just the sixth-best percentage from three. His play was indicative of why the Knicks were able to win the series.

The Jazz through a combination of resting Lauri Markkanen, trading away Mike Conley, and a variety of injuries, fell short in their attempt to make the playoffs in the Western Conference.

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