Report: Jazz Trade Star Donovan Mitchell To Cleveland Cavaliers
Sep 1, 2022, 1:44 PM | Updated: 2:00 pm
Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz are reportedly trading All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a blockbuster deal reported on Thursday.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Jazz are sending Donovan Mitchell to the Cavaliers in exchange for three unprotected first-round draft picks and two pick swaps.
Cleveland will send three unprotected first round picks and two pick swaps as part of the deal to Utah for Mitchell, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/vfphmFMIAf
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 1, 2022
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the jazz will also acquire Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and Ochai Agbaji along with the draft picks.
Sources: The Cleveland Cavaliers are trading Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three first-round picks and two pick swaps to the Utah Jazz for Donovan Mitchell.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 1, 2022
This deal officially puts the Jazz in rebuild mode but a large amount of draft picks they received in this trade and the trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Rudy Gobert is a good starting point.
Donovan Mitchell’s Career With The Utah Jazz
During the 2017 NBA Draft, the Jazz traded up to get Mitchell with the 13th overall pick. The hype around the now All-Star guard started with the Salt Lake City Summer League when he made highlight plays.
That carried into the season when Rodney Hood was a late scratch from the starting lineup, forcing head coach Quin Snyder to insert Mitchell into the lineup just before tip-off of their season opener against the Denver Nuggets.
Mitchell spent five seasons with the Jazz. He appeared in 345 games with 337 starts, averaging 23.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per contest, while shooting 44% from the field and 36% from the three-point line.
The Louisville product increased his scoring average in each of the first three seasons. During the 2020-21 campaign, Mitchell averaged 26.4 points per contest before going down to 25.9 this past season.
Mitchell helped the Jazz reach the playoffs in each of his five seasons with the organization. He played 39 games, posting averages of 28.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists while shooting 43% from the floor and 36% from downtown.
During the postseason, Mitchell scored 30 points or more in 19 games, 40 points or more in four games, and 50 points or more twice. He dropped 57 points in the bubble in Game 1 against the Nuggets and 51 points in Game 4 of the same series.
