Instant grades for the Donovan Mitchell mega-trade between Cleveland & Utah

Months of speculation have come to a head as the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to a massive trade that will send All-Star Donovan Mitchell to the Eastern Conference. Through all of the rumors about the New York Knicks’ involvement and exorbitant price tags from the Jazz brass, Utah finally pulled the trigger on a deal that effectively ends the organization’s most recent era.

This comes just a few months after Utah dealt its other star, Rudy Gobert, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a haul that included a variety of players and a treasure trove of draft assets. Now, the Utah Jazz officially enter the Victor Wembanyama tankathon as the Cleveland Cavaliers nab another young cornerstone to build around.

Details of the Donovan Mitchell mega-trade between the Cavaliers and Jazz

As reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Cavaliers are sending  Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three unprotected first-round picks and two pick-swaps to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Donovan Mitchell. Cleveland and restricted free agent Collin Sexton have also agreed to a sign-and-trade deal that will send the former lottery pick to Utah on a four-year deal worth $72 million in fully-guaranteed money.

Moments later, ESPN’s NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed that the three first-rounders are in 2025, 2027 and 2029 with swaps in 2026 and 2028. It’s also worth noting that Agbaji, who was selected 14th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, so the Cavaliers essentially traded six picks.

Now that we’ve established the trade details, let’s get into the instant grades.