NBA Trade Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly have interest in Donovan Mitchell

Could the Cleveland Cavaliers enter the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes? It’s possible.

Per a report from SNY’s Ian Begley (who primarily covers the New York Knicks, the team most linked to Mitchell), the Cavs interest in acquiring the 25-year-old All-Star guard. From his report:

The Knicks are among several teams with interest in trading for Mitchell. The Cavs touched base with Utah about a Mitchell trade in recent days, per SNY sources. Cleveland’s level of interest in Mitchell is unknown but the Cavs have the young players and picks to put together a competitive package.

That’s all the public Cavs-Mitchell linkage we’ve seen so far. The Athletic’s Tony Jones wrote that the Jazz are still taking offers from teams, but did not mention the Cavs by name.

It’s easy to understand why the Cavs (or any team) would have interest in Mitchell. He’s a bonafide All-Star who can score at all three levels, play on-and-off ball and is a solid creator for others. In a league that is run more and more on three-point shooting and perimeter playmaking, he provides both. He’s a negative defensively, but the Cavs probably feel having Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to back him up would help.

The biggest question here is price. Mitchell is going to command a massive haul. In a summer where Dejounte Murray went for three first-round picks and Rudy Gobert commanded four firsts and a pick swap (plus a Walker Kessler, a 2022 first-round pick, and other players), the Jazz are rightfully going to ask for the world in a Mitchell trade.

For the Cavs, that would be something like four unprotected firsts (2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031 are the next four they can offer), Collin Sexton in a sign-and-trade and matching salary. It’s possible that the Jazz would ask for, say, Jarrett Allen too. That’s a lot to send out in assets. And that’s before getting into some real financial questions a Mitchell trade would bring up considering he’s making $32.6 million next year, $34.8 million the following year and has a player option for $37 million after that.

It still seems like the Knicks are the leaders for Mitchell. But the Cavs apparently are interested. Let’s see if this goes anywhere.