Cavs or Jazz: Who’s winning the Donovan Mitchell trade so far?

Impact on Utah Jazz

For a few weeks in the regular season, it seemed like the trade was going to backfire on the Utah Jazz because they were winning too much. This is the strange state of tanking teams in the NBA.

The Jazz are still having a solid season in terms of wins and losses. But this year was always going to be about building the next core, both in terms of players on the team and players that can be had in the 2023 NBA Draft (aka Victor Wembanyama).

There was a question about who the bigger get would be from the deal with the Cavs: Sexton or Markkanen? When that conversation was being had, nobody could’ve predicted the kind of season Markkanen would have.

The 2017-18 All-Rookie forward is on his third team, but he’s suddenly hitting a new level this year, making his first All-Star team as the lone representative for the hometown Jazz. He’s averaging 24.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, hitting 42.2 percent of his threes. Signed at a reasonable deal for the next three years, his acquisition alone made the trade worthwhile for the Jazz.

Sexton hasn’t looked quite like the weapon he did during his second and third seasons with the Cavs – before a disastrous injury – but he has become a key cog off the bench. He’s averaging 14.1 points per game and also proving to be solid from beyond the arc, hitting 41.7 percent of his threes.

The jury is out on Agbaji, who has played in 32 games but has largely seen limited action. He’s old for a rookie (almost 23), but he was a star in college and has the potential to emerge as a key rotation piece down the road.

Plus, the Jazz have a ton of picks to play with in the future and could get themselves back in the sweepstakes for Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson if they trade away some veterans at the deadline.