After months of speculation about whether or not the Utah Jazz will trade Donovan Mitchell, they’ve finally made a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who seemingly came out of nowhere, much to the chagrin of New York Knicks fans.
ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the shocking trade details.
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
Per Woj, the Cavs will send three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps to Utah as part of the deal for Mitchell.
Yahoo! Senior NBA insider Chris Haynes then posted the three players that Cleveland will be sending to Utah, which include Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and Ochai Agbaji.
Cleveland will send Lauri Markkanen, Colin Sexton and Ochai Agbaji to Utah in the package for Donovan Mitchell, league sources tell @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) September 1, 2022
Sexton, who was the 8th pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Cavaliers, developed into a strong scorer, averaging 24.3 points per game in the 2020-2021 season. However, surgery for a torn left meniscus ended last year early for him.
Markkanen came over from the Chicago Bulls in a trade last season and started 61 games for Cleveland last year. Agbaji, meanwhile, was Cleveland’s first-round pick in the 2022 NBA draft.
The 25-year-old Mitchell is a three-time NBA All-Star and a huge centerpiece in the Jazz’s recent success. However, after the franchise traded Rudy Gobert, the writing was on the wall for a total rebuild. A trade out of town has been rumored for months, though certainly not to Cleveland.
While there’s plenty more info and analysis to come, the NBA world offered some immediate reactions to the news, especially given how the Cavaliers came seemingly out of nowhere to land Mitchell.
WHATTTTTTTT https://t.co/BRkpKBkBeG
— KENNY BEECHAM (@KOT4Q) September 1, 2022
I love a genuinely shocking trade. Good for the cavs! https://t.co/96MfLMnd00
— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) September 1, 2022
“What’s going on in Utah” https://t.co/dL2ztQwjU2 pic.twitter.com/aY96GEg6rS
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) September 1, 2022
This qualifies as a shocker. https://t.co/p6BHHVA7Ni
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) September 1, 2022
Wow!! Gotta love this league https://t.co/uQ65lVRUqv
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) September 1, 2022
That's very good business for Cleveland https://t.co/VRNJ0nD7cp
— Vivek Jacob (@vivekmjacob) September 1, 2022
Oh buddy https://t.co/OlzKWYQMS2
— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) September 1, 2022
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.