4 teams that could’ve beaten Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell offer

Months of speculation culminated with a blockbuster deal sending All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for three players and five draft picks. While the Utah Jazz effectively leaned all the way into a rebuild ahead of a seemingly historic draft class, Cleveland is now one of four teams with three 2022 All-Stars, and they didn’t have to sacrifice former No. 3 pick Evan Mobley to do it.

This deal certainly appears to be working out nicely for both sides, but even with that being the case, there are other teams that could’ve put a more compelling deal on the table.

The Cleveland Cavaliers trade a ton, but other teams could’ve traded more.

Let’s make one thing clear: Cleveland put together an impressive trade package to acquire Mitchell. Headlined by the seventh and eighth picks in back-to-back drafts —Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton, both on long-term contract extensions — the Cavs put their cards on the table and still walked away with Donovan Mitchell without giving up their best pieces.

Rookie wing Ochai Agjabi, the 14th pick out of Kansas, is an intriguing prospect. One of the older players in the class, Agbaji projects to be a solid 3-and-D wing with some shot creation and slashing upside, although many draft experts expressed concern about his potential to be more than a rotational piece. I don’t subscribe to that mindset, because high-impact role players are hard to come by and at the end of the lottery, you’d be lucky to nab one of those players.

Still, there are four teams that could’ve included surefire young talent while matching the draft compensation acquired by the Utah Jazz.

Please note that draft picks are not included in the proposed trades. Each of the teams mentioned controls their own draft assets with several of them having additional first-round picks to match Cleveland’s three first-rounders and two swaps.