BREAKING: Utah Jazz Trade All-Star Donovan Mitchell To Cleveland Cavaliers
In a shocking move on the first day of September, the Utah Jazz have traded All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers, first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
In a massive package going back to Utah, the Cavaliers are trading Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, rookie Ochai Agbaji, three unprotected first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to the Jazz for Mitchell.
Sexton, who was still a restricted free agent, is signing a four-year, $72 million fully-guaranteed deal to be included in this trade.
Mitchell, 25, has been the face of the Jazz since being drafted 13th overall by the Denver Nuggets and then dealt to Utah during the 2017 NBA Draft.
Making the All-Star Game for three consecutive seasons now, Mitchell has solidified himself as one of the best scoring guards in the entire NBA.
In recent weeks, the New York Knicks has been heavily engaged in trade talks to acquire Donovan Mitchell form the Utah Jazz, but their recent decision to sign RJ Barrett on a new four-year rookie extension forced the Jazz to look elsewhere for a trade given their interest in Barrett to be included.
The Cavaliers had been a team in contact with the Jazz over the last couple of weeks and not only did their offer peak the interest of Danny Ainge and Utah's front-office, but Mitchell also saw an opportunity he liked in terms of pairing up with All-Star guard Darius Garland in the backcourt, league sources tell Fastbreak.
Now, Cleveland has three All-Star talents, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarett Allen, as well as an emerging young superstar in Evan Mobley.
General manager Koby Altman and the Cavaliers have gone "all-in" on capitalizing on their young core right now and while they lose some overall depth from this deal, Cleveland has everything they need to get back to the playoffs and be a real contending threat in the Eastern Conference.
Following their recent trades involving All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the Utah Jazz have acquired 13 unprotected or lightly protected draft picks through 2029, setting themselves up for a massive rebuilding process.
