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Danny Cunningham covers the Cleveland Cavaliers for 850 ESPN Cleveland and thelandondemand.com. You can find him on Twitter at @RealDCunningham.
NEW YORK -- Donovan Mitchell has been worth it.
Yes, the Cavs gave up a lot to acquire Mitchell. Lauri Markkanen is having what is by far the best year of his career as Utah’s lead option, rookie Ochai Agbaji is beginning to show the promise that made him a lottery pick after he was inserted into Utah’s rotation in early January. When those players are combined with Collin Sexton – who has only played in 47 games this year due to injuries – and the large number of draft picks and swaps the Cavs gave away, there is wondering as to whether or not the deal was worth it.
All of that netted a guy who may go down as a top three player in franchise history in Mitchell. The trade led to one of the best seasons in franchise history that didn’t feature LeBron James on the roster. It’s only the first year of having Mitchell in Cleveland, and all signs point to him still improving.
The Cavs can clinch a spot in the playoffs for the first time without James on the roster since 1998 later this week in the first year of having Mitchell in Cleveland. If that’s all that happens during his time in Cleveland, then it’s certainly fair to rethink whether this deal was worth it.
The deal hasn’t made the Cavs a true contender for a championship, yet. The expectation for this season were for the Cavs to make the playoffs and possibly win a playoff series, not raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy. One day, those expectations will arrive, but they’re not reality right now.
Finishing as a team in the top-four of a loaded Eastern Conference is unquestionably a success for the Cavs this yearl. If the team wins in the first round of the playoffs against the New York Knicks, who are a team that also may win 50 games this season, there really can’t be anything to complain about as far as how the first year went.
How the Cavs reach the point where winning championships becomes the expectations is the biggest question moving forward. Especially when the ability to improve significantly isn’t one that exists due to a lack of draft capital.
The answer to that question is Evan Mobley.
The trade for Mitchell wasn’t just a bet that he would continue upon his ascension, it was a bet that Mobley would continue upon his track towards superstardom. It was a bet that he would develop in such a way offensively that it would catch up to what he’s able to do on defense, where he’s already playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level in just his second season in the NBA.
If that happens, the Cavs are absolutely good enough to win a championship in the coming seasons. The bet the Cavs made by trading for Mitchell was that they would at some point feature Mobley as a top 10 player in the world, with Mitchell somewhere else in the top-15 amongst NBA players, and All-Star point guard Darius Garland considered a top-25 player.
If that doesn’t happen, the Cavs will likely be a team that wins 50 or more games on a yearly basis as long as this core is together, and need the stars to align perfectly in order to an NBA Finals run. Some years they may end up in the conference finals, while other years they could be a team that exits in the second round, depending on how strong the rest of the Eastern Conference is.
Say the Cavs don’t become a championship contender. Some will still cherish this era that will surely involve winning a bunch of regular season games and yearly trips to the playoffs and others will wonder what could have been if the team didn’t trade for Mitchell. It wasn’t a risk-free move. When the Jazz control every first-round draft pick from the Cavs from 2025 through 2029, it could hurt. If Agbaji becomes the sharpshooting defender on the wing the Cavs are badly missing in their roster construction, it won’t go unmentioned or unnoticed.
Maybe Mobley does develop into a perennial All-NBA level player and MVP candidate. If it does, the Cavs will be competing for championships as long as it’s true. Maybe they’ll win one, maybe they won’t. It’s really difficult to win at that level in the NBA, look no further than the second era with James. The Cavs had arguably the greatest player to ever play basketball and won just one title in four years.
Maybe that doesn’t happen, and the Cavs are a team that has to become creative in order to improve certain areas of the roster. Only time can tell which will actually happen in reality.
It’s easy to rush to judgment on things or expect instant gratification. It can sometimes be hard to imagine that in a massive trade like this, both sides can be thrilled with what they received.
The Jazz certainly would do this trade again, and the Cavs unquestionably would too. After one season, it’s hard to say that the deal wasn’t worth it.