30 NBA Players in 30 Days: Donovan Mitchell
Day 13 of our countdown to the NBA season brings us to the Cleveland Cavaliers to preview the highly anticipated of their newly acquired star from the Utah Jazz, Donovan Mitchell. One could argue this trade for the Cavs might have been the most featured trade of the season considering they got one of the best premier scorers in the league to pair up with another rising young star in Darius Garland and two very good defensive big men in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. If I was a Cavs fan, I would be super excited for what Mitchell can add to a team that is desperate for a big time scorer at the guard or wing position. The Hawks trading for Dejounte Murray or the Timberwolves trading for Rudy Gobert could also contend for being the biggest splash trade of the offseason, but because Mitchell can slide into that 2-guard spot seamlessly and will probably have the easiest job fitting into what the Cavs already have, I would lean more towards that instead.
The Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes was looking like it was going to end with him going to the Knicks with all the connections that he has with the organization, as well as RJ Barrett probably being the focal point of that package. But instead Mitchell ended up going to the Cavs, and you can add the trade to the long list of unexpected trades in the history of the NBA. Last year Mitchell posted 25.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 5.3 APG, 44.8 FG%, and 35.5 FG3%. For being an undersized shooting guard, the scoring numbers with decent efficiency is very impressive, and being on the Cavs will help him be more efficient, so I expect those shooting splits to improve this season. In Utah, the scoring was pretty much all dependent on Mitchell when he was on the floor, and there were many times where he would have to force up a shot or feel like the possession had to end with him scoring or getting a teammate an open look. On the Cavs, he will be able to play off of better talent, as well as an exciting playmaker in Garland. When the trade first went down, most people thought of how this will affect Garland since he had a breakout type season last year. But for a young point guard that is already averaging 8.6 APG, the two guards will be able to work well together with Garland as a facilitator and Mitchell being the scorer. I’m sure Garland is actually relieved that he Instead of Mitchell having to create for himself, the Cavs can be creative with how they can create opportunities for the two of them. Pick and roll sets while mixing and matching the combinations of Garland, Mitchell, Mobley, and Allen will be very fun to watch on League Pass throughout the year. One of the most alarming stats of the Mitchell-Gobert pairing was that Mitchell averaged 2.7 passes per game to Gobert. With the talented duo of Mobley and Allen, I’m sure that number will be way more this upcoming season.
I can’t help but to be really excited for Mitchell’s arrival in Cleveland and what the future holds for this team. If it all works out well in the first year, we could be seeing this team compete with the Eastern Conference’s best teams like Milwaukee, Boston (who knows with all of the Udoka stuff), and Philly. Even if it does take a year to get a great version of this team, everyone in their core is still really young and Mitchell is locked in his contract for most of his prime years as an NBA player. The success of the franchise may not always have to depend on LeBron James after all.
