The Cavaliers have acquired star guard Donovan Mitchell in a trade with the Jazz, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
In exchange, the Cavs are sending Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and rookie lottery pick Ochai Agbaji to the Jazz, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
In exchange for Mitchell, the Cavs will send three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps to the Jazz, Wojnarowski reported. Those picks are unprotected and are for the 2025, ’27 and ’29 drafts, sources told Hoops Wire.
“What a deal for Cleveland!” a rival executive texted.
Sexton, a restricted free agent, will sign a four-year, $72 million contract with the Jazz, Charania added. The deal is fully guaranteed.
He appeared in just 11 games last season after suffering a torn MCL in November. He averaged 24.3 points in 2020-21, taking a willing step back for the good of the team in his short time last season.
Mitchell, 25, is 6-foot-1 and has spent his entire career with the Jazz. He averaged 25.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 67 games last season.
He will now team with returning All-Stars Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, as well as All-Rookie member Evan Mobley. But the Cavs’ experiment of starting three 7-footers has likely reached an end after the departure of Markkanen.
He had long been linked to the Knicks, but those talks recently died after the Knicks agreed to a contract extension with RJ Barrett. The Cavs reportedly removed themselves for Mitchell talks last week. Clearly, they snuck back in once the Jazz’s talks with the Knicks died.
“Cleveland GM Koby Altman circled back to Utah GM Justin Zanik on Tuesday and the two teams re-assembled a deal they had been discussing in previous weeks,” Wojnarowski wrote.
The Cavs finished 44-38 last season, good enough for eighth in the Eastern Conference, despite a slew of injuries to key personnel. They lost both games in in the play-in tournament to miss the playoffs.
With good health and the likes of Garland, Allen, Mobley and the man they call “Spida,” the Cavs again appear to be a major player in the East. Or as Wojnarowski wrote, “Cleveland is suddenly a major force in the East.”
Meanwhile, the Jazz get plenty of building blocks in the likes of Sexton, a fan favorite in Cleveland, as well as Agbaji and Markkanen. Those three are “keepers for their rebuilding roster” Wojnarowski wrote, adding that the Jazz may still look to deal Mike Conley Jr., Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!
Sorry,,,, NO ! What a LOSS !!!!!
May as well try to get Lebron back !! Again NO!! THAT WAS SARCASM.
BUT : To give away Markkanen AND YOUR KANSAS LOTTERY PICK BEFORE HE’S GOTTEN A CHANCE TO TRY TO SHOW HIS WORTH ! ! ! ! !
THE WHOLE INSPIRING SEASON FOR ANOTHER REVOLVING DOOR DEFENCE!
SORRY BUT I still gotta say —WHAT A LOSS – FOR THE FAN BASE ! ! ! !
SEXTON FOR MITCHELL IS OK QUITE A SWAP NO DEFENCE FOR ANOTHER NO DEFENCE,,, MAYBE A PICK OR TWO IF YOU INSIST,,,, BUT TO GIVE AWAY YOUR THIRD PARTNER IN THE TRI-TOWER BACK COURT WHEN HIS SHOOTING IS JUST NOW GOING OFF THE CHARTS —GIVE THEM CEDI TOO WITH SEXTON IF YOU WANT BUT THIS IS STUPID. Sexton had just started to give up hogging the ball, & settling down with Darius working off the bench. We had SO BEEN LONGING TO SEE ALL HEALTHY GET TOGETHER OF THE WHOLE TEAM & NOW ! NOT!
I’m out. Apparently the Cavs front office was so excited about missing the playoffs thanks to Garlands choke job they failed to watch Mitchell choke every playoffs with the Jazz.
I think this severe overvalue of Mitchell is going to ruin any chances they had of keeping Mobley past his rookie deal. You cannot beat the Celtics for sure and probably a few others with such a 2 headed liability defensively in the starting 5. I mean the same people arguing Sexton is a 6th man won’t be saying that about Spida but they both the same level scorer that does not defend.
Anyone supporting this loss of picks even if you think the player values are not a fleecing with the losses of Markanen Agbaji and Sexton they are expected to be bad picks you never trade unprotected picks for someone who might not even help you be any better than last season.
Mitchell wont make this team better but hey Sexton got his 18 per and Agbaji got lucky
The Cleveland Special? The Andrew Berry? The sneak-back-in?
Huge win holding on to Okoro! Really huge. Wow.
What will Jazz pay Sexton?
Nice job Altman balancing out the roster at the same time. Again, keeping Okoro. Huge.
Now will Mitchell grow put of his gunning habits? (Difficult shots). Now would be the perfect time.
Better system and roster for Mitchell?