![]() Neither of those supporting guards, however, had anywhere near the pull on opposing defenses that Mitchell does. ![]() Sharing ballhandling duties with Sexton (before his season-ending injury) and Ricky Rubio (before his season-ending injury) brought out the best in Garland last year, setting him up for a breakout campaign and his first All-Star berth. Yet this move sets up the Cavs with four stars (or near enough) in Mitchell, Allen, Mobley, and Darius Garland, who can play off of and compensate for one another in a way that feels organic and dangerous. There are kinks to sort out in how it all works-an undersized backcourt and massive frontcourt, without clear fixtures on the wing. Cleveland needed a living, breathing bucket, and Mitchell, frankly, needed the kind of constant, vigilant defensive support he enjoyed playing alongside Rudy Gobert, and which Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley should be able to provide. Small-Market Teams Are Paying Big Prices to Go All In Are the Knicks Better Off Without Donovan Mitchell? Rather than gesture at the problem with a relatively dynamic role player, Cleveland made a significant bid for the three-time All-Star who was the driving force behind the league’s top regular-season offense. In retrospect, that deal was merely a precursor. Cleveland acknowledged that deficit last season when it swung a February trade for Caris LeVert, who-due to timing, injury, and the peculiarities of his game-never fully settled into his role punching up the offense. It finds answers or it gets bogged down in questions. An offense either has juice or it doesn’t. Teams can do without that sort of creativity to a point, but there’s no real means of faking it. The Cavs were desperate for the kind of propulsion that comes so naturally to Mitchell, with his quick-twitch drives and coverage-busting jumpers. That’s what it takes to make moves at this level. Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, lottery pick Ochai Agbaji, three unprotected first-round picks, and two pick swaps. So on Thursday, Cleveland jumped the line by arranging a massive trade for Utah’s star guard, at no small cost. ![]() Yet there wasn’t a competitive franchise on the board that needed Mitchell as much as the Cavs did. There were higher-profile teams in the hunt for Donovan Mitchell than the Cleveland Cavaliers-more dramatic teams, more heavily rumored and reported teams, more brazen teams in bigger markets with balder ambitions.
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