This afternoon, the Utah Jazz traded superstar guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. After months of rumors suggesting that Mitchell would be headed to the New York Knicks, the Brooklyn Nets, or the Miami Heat, Spidah is headed to Cleveland.
In exchange for Mitchell, the Cavaliers are sending three unprotected future first-round picks in addition to SF Lauri Markkanen, PF Ochai Agbaji, and guard Collin Sexton. While the Cavaliers have potentially landed their new franchise player, the Utah Jazz have completely rebuilt their roster this offseason by getting rid of C Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. The players the Cavaliers are sending to Utah are all young and growing in the league. This is especially true about Agbaji who was selected by the Cavs with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft after winning the National Championship with the Kansas Jay Hawks. Collin Sexton has matured as a Cavalier, but was no longer needed if Mitch was added to the team and Garland was retained. Sexton joining the Jazz could allow him to become even more efficient as a guard in this league. This trade deal for Mitchell is very similar to the multi-player trade deal which sent three-time DPOY Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In exchange for Gobert, the Jazz received Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and four future first-round picks. Utah is clearly rebuilding their entire roster by bringing in young NBA players with experience but with still a lot of room for growth. In addition, the Jazz have acquired a whopping seven future first-round picks combined from the T-Wolves and the Cavs. Now, Utah’s roster looks completely different. In 2022, the Jazz will feature an ensemble of young NBA players.
In turn, the Cavaliers are clearly ready to make a move for the playoffs in 2022 after landing Spidah.Expect Mitchell to be used as a true SG in Cleveland while PG Darius Garland continues to be the team’s main play-maker. Garland, who averaged 21.7 PPG in 2021, will likely see a drop in his PPG this season as a result of Mitchell’s addition to the roster. Mitchell has scored at least 20 PPG in each of his first five NBA seasons. He averaged 26.4 PPG in 2021, and 25.9 PPG in 2022. Spida Mitchell could have a career-high year in scoring for the Cavaliers. It will be interesting to see how the chemistry develops between Mitch, Garland and C Evan Mobley in the upcoming season.
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Late last night, it was reported that the Lakers are finalizing a trade deal with the Utah Jazz which will bring veteran guard Patrick Beverley back to Los Angeles. While the deal was not finalized Wednesday night, it is expected to be officially completed later this morning.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1562641398263738368
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After being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers midway through last season, the Sixers offered James Harden a two-year deal worth close to $70 million. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday night that this deal would also include a player option.
Harden was ready to sacrifice profit to ensure that he would return to Philly for another year. He will return to the team alongside C Joel Embiid and PG Tyrese Maxey. In addition, the 76ers brought guard De'Anthony Melton and SF PJ Tucker on board for next season.
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Donovan Mitchell is one of the best scorers in the NBA. In each of his five NBA seasons, Mitchell has averaged a minimum of 20.5 PPG. Over the last two seasons, Mitchell has averaged virtually 26 PPG: he averaged 26.4 points in 2020, and 25.9 points last season. Now that Rudy Gobert has been dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a package of players and five first-round picks, the prospect of Mitchell carrying the Jazz to the playoffs one more year is bleak. In fact, the Utah Jazz announced yesterday that they were now ready to hear and consider potential trade scenarios.
Mitchell has expressed his interest in joining another team and potentially “coming home.” At the moment, the Miami Heat, the Brooklyn Nets, and the New York Knicks are the three teams that seem to have the best chance at acquiring Mitchell this offseason. The Toronto Raptors are also a dark horse who clearly have the assets to get a deal done. The question is whether Toronto would be willing to part ways with Scottie Barnes or OG Anunoby. If not, Utah likely won’t even entertain the conversation. Now, let’s start by looking at what it would take for the reigning No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference to acquire “Spidah.”
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Things are starting to look bleak for the Brooklyn Nets as Kevin Durant has just requested a trade out of the organization. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported less than an hour ago that KD has officially requested to be traded out of Brooklyn.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1542580983739858944
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Today, Russell Westbrook has exercised his $47.1 million contract option. This guarantees that he will be in Los Angeles going into next season. Kyrie Irving did the same thing in Brooklyn, and rumors about him being interested in joining the Lakers have quickly dissipated. However he also opted in on his player option in Brooklyn. Russ did the exact same thing.
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At the end of the 2021-22 season, Michael Jordan and the Hornets front office made the decision to part ways with four-year head coach James Borrego. While the NBA Finals are in full swing, the Charlotte Hornets are actively looking to fill in the head coaching position. At the moment, Mike D'Antoni and Kenny Atkinson look like the front runners to take the job in Charlotte beginning next season.
One of the reasons for his firing can be linked to his decision to dissinclude rookies from participating much if at all this season. Notably, James Bouknight and Kai Jones, who were selected 11th and 19th respectively in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft, played little to nothing in their rookie seasons. Bouknight even joined the Greenssboro Swarm instead of the Hornets for a large part of his rookie season.
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