Cavaliers’ Title Odds Improve After Acquiring Donovan Mitchell
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Donovan Mitchell is on the move and so are the championship odds of his new team.
The Cavaliers reportedly are acquiring the All-Star guard from the Jazz in exchange for three unprotected first-round picks, two pick swaps, forward Lauri Markkanen, guard Collin Sexton and rookie guard Ochai Agbaji.
This move drastically improves the Cavaliers’ chances in the Eastern Conference and beyond, which was reflected in the massive odds shift Thursday afternoon.
Cleveland’s odds to win its second title were as long as +10000 just a few weeks ago and leapt to +4000 and then +3000 at SI Sportsbook when news broke of the trade. The move didn’t push the team inside the top 10 title odds, but it’s certainly knocking on the door now near teams like the Timberwolves and Mavericks.
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The Cavaliers are fresh off their best record since LeBron James left, finishing ninth in the East with a 44-38 mark. Cleveland dropped both play-in tournament games, though, and ultimately missed the postseason for the fourth year in a row.
Mitchell joins a young, talented team that includes Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, both first-time All-Stars last season, as well as Rookie of the Year runner-up Evan Mobley. This new core should end that postseason drought.
The East is still full of contenders, like the Celtics, Bucks, Nets, 76ers and Heat, but bringing in a guard of Mitchell’s caliber puts Cleveland firmly behind those top five teams and perhaps a step above the Raptors, Hawks and Bulls.
As for Utah, this trade puts a bookend on the Mitchell-Rudy Gobert-Quin Snyder era. Since Mitchell was drafted in 2017, the Jazz made postseason every year but only have two series wins to show for it and no conference finals appearances. Snyder stepped down in early June and Gobert was traded to the Timberwolves about a month later in a deal that fetched four first-round picks, a pick swap and five other players, including 2022 first-round selection Walker Kessler.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski noted that the Jazz still have “coveted veteran trade assets” like Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley and could be in the market for further draft capital. Markkanen, Agbaji and Sexton, who reportedly will sign a new contact with the Jazz, are considered “keepers” for the rebuild.
After it became clear that Kevin Durant is staying in Brooklyn, Mitchell’s future in Salt Lake City became the focus of the NBA offseason. Now, the Cavaliers will push for a return to the postseason beginning when the season tips off Oct. 19.
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