Donovan Mitchell: The Good and the Greater

As of yesterday, there is one team in the East with three 2022 All-Stars, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Adding Donovan Mitchell, while also losing none of the core pieces on the roster, has the opportunity to change the outlook of the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future.

    Donovan Mitchell does a few things for the Cavs. The big thing is, on paper, he becomes another core piece for the Cavs. The "Big 3" that we believed in last season now becomes a "big 4." Donovan Mitchell will turn 26 this next week and enter his prime, but currently the Cavs core-four are all 25 years old or younger. They are also adding a 3rd all-star to Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland, and not to mention the already highly coveted Evan Mobley, who ,any believe may become the best player on the roster in the future.

Credit (@overtime)

    The biggest thing is, in practice now for the Cavs, they add another elite ball handler and scorer. Donovan Mitchell is a player who can take over a game by himself. While, yes, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are very good offensive players, they just aren't able to be a primary ball handler, or take over a game like Darius Garland can. Down the stretch of last season this weighed on the team tremendously. After Ricky Rubio got injured, the Cavs were left with only one primary handler. Taking this pressure off Darius Garland will do wonders for the team's offensive production this season. 

    Mitchell is one of the better shooters in the NBA. Mitchell shoots the 3-ball at a 35.5% on 9.8 attempts per game. The Cavs will be very happy to have a player of Mitchell's caliber who isn't afraid to let it fly at any moment. Mitchell will also be more of a pull-up threat from the perimeter. He shoots it at 35.6% clip on the pull-up on 6 attempts, rather than a 34.6% rate on 3.5 catch-and-shoot attempts. Combined, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell have the opportunity to be a lethal 3-point shooting backcourt.

    From an overall scoring perspective, Mitchell is elite. Mitchell averaged 25.9 PPG last season, and 26.4 PPG in 2020-21. In the playoffs, Spida averaged 28.3 PPG, which is the 7th most PPG in the playoffs of all-time. This type of scoring production hasn't been seen in Cleveland since the Kyrie and LeBron era. Scoring at this level, combined with Darius Garland's overall game, and Allen and Mobley on the interior could prove to be one of the better offenses in the league.

    

    A few people will be nervous about the defense of a small Garland and Mitchell backcourt my provide, which likely won't be much, but the Cavs made this move because they have faith in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen manning the interior. It's also not hard to believe they think Okoro will be taking another jump on both sides of the ball in his third year. 

Credit (@atarterdesign)

    The Cavs parted ways with Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, Lauri Markkanen, 3 FRPs, and 2 pick-swaps in this deal. The picks aren't really a concern in this equation, as the Cavs should be able to put together a contender for multiple years, rendering those picks late into the first round. However, losing Lauri Markkanen and Agbaji could prove difficult for the Cavs from the shooting front. The Cavs are low on good, consistent 3-point production. The Cavs may shop Caris LeVert at the deadline for a player who provides them for this, but of course much will play out before then, so it's impossible to speculate.

    To tie it all together, this move puts the Cavs on the fast track to being a top team in the East very soon, and a consistent playoff team in the East right now. While giving up none of their core pieces, the Cavs maintained one of the best young cores in the league, and now add another 25 year old star, arguably superstar, to their roster. It's a great time to be a Cavs fan.