I said A-. They worked on it all summer and weren't going to get a better deal. Meanwhile, they told the Knicks to kick rocks and sent Mitchell to take his wine and cheese to Cleveland.
I dig it.
I dig it.
Grade the Trade: Mitchell to Cavs
- Thread starter Miggs
- Start date
Reality: A+
The False Delusion Most of Were Under: A-
The early hype about how much we could squeeze out of the Knicks made Mitchell's trade value prospects way too unrealistic. I think we got way over fair value for Mitchell. I think Mitchell is a top 25-30 player, not top 20. We got a Top 20 package for a flawed player. Not that I love any of the players we got, but we got 3 young starters. I wish more of them were on rookie deals, but they are all 3 on long-term fair value deals at least.
The False Delusion Most of Were Under: A-
The early hype about how much we could squeeze out of the Knicks made Mitchell's trade value prospects way too unrealistic. I think we got way over fair value for Mitchell. I think Mitchell is a top 25-30 player, not top 20. We got a Top 20 package for a flawed player. Not that I love any of the players we got, but we got 3 young starters. I wish more of them were on rookie deals, but they are all 3 on long-term fair value deals at least.
A+
Is Donovan Mitchell a 2029 unprotected 1st, 2028 pick swap, Collin Sexton (4/72M) and Lauri Markannen combination better than Dejounte Murray?
Is Donovan Mitchell a 2029 unprotected 1st, 2028 pick swap, Collin Sexton (4/72M) and Lauri Markannen combination better than Dejounte Murray?
This is counting Charlotte’s protected 2023 pick as an equal to Agbaji too. I would rather have Agbaji than that pick too.
PresidioTrojan
Well-Known Member
A/A-
Got a substantially better haul of young players than I expected, and the combination of 3 UFRP + 2 swaps from '25-'29 is as good as we could have hoped for.
I have confidence this Cavs nucleus will be very good for 3-5 years. 2027-2029? Who the heck knows. Highly likely at least one of those 3 picks is high lotto or better.
Got a substantially better haul of young players than I expected, and the combination of 3 UFRP + 2 swaps from '25-'29 is as good as we could have hoped for.
I have confidence this Cavs nucleus will be very good for 3-5 years. 2027-2029? Who the heck knows. Highly likely at least one of those 3 picks is high lotto or better.
YoungJefe
Well-Known Member
I'd give it an A.
While I think I would've preferred the package from NY that included RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Obi Toppin, and 3 1st round picks I still like the haul that we got. And I think that in the long run it may actually be a better package because it also allowed us to keep roster/financial flexibility. If we had taken that offer from the Knicks we would've had to immediately extend Barrett/Robinson and commit to them as core pieces we would be building around. Instead we added Sexton/Lauri who are both on team friendly deals for the next few seasons so if they play well we can keep them around but if they don't we can easily move off of them.
I like all three of the players that we got in the deal and think that all three can be rotational guys for us going forward. Sexton is one of the better young scoring guards in the league, Lauri is an extremely skilled 7 footer, and Agbaji was a lottery pick that fits the 3&D mold perfectly.
As far as the picks are concerned I think Ainge is more so banking on the 2027/2028/2029 picks being the real value we got back from this deal. Donovan will likely be gone, we've seen stars force their way out of small markets before, and they won't have any real means to retool quickly or improve their team if things don't pan out. With the recent rumors about us wanting one of the Lakers picks as well I think the plan is to try and be good when that 2026-2027 roles around and then potentially add the final piece during that draft.
While I think I would've preferred the package from NY that included RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Obi Toppin, and 3 1st round picks I still like the haul that we got. And I think that in the long run it may actually be a better package because it also allowed us to keep roster/financial flexibility. If we had taken that offer from the Knicks we would've had to immediately extend Barrett/Robinson and commit to them as core pieces we would be building around. Instead we added Sexton/Lauri who are both on team friendly deals for the next few seasons so if they play well we can keep them around but if they don't we can easily move off of them.
I like all three of the players that we got in the deal and think that all three can be rotational guys for us going forward. Sexton is one of the better young scoring guards in the league, Lauri is an extremely skilled 7 footer, and Agbaji was a lottery pick that fits the 3&D mold perfectly.
As far as the picks are concerned I think Ainge is more so banking on the 2027/2028/2029 picks being the real value we got back from this deal. Donovan will likely be gone, we've seen stars force their way out of small markets before, and they won't have any real means to retool quickly or improve their team if things don't pan out. With the recent rumors about us wanting one of the Lakers picks as well I think the plan is to try and be good when that 2026-2027 roles around and then potentially add the final piece during that draft.
We all would but that was never even close to being on the table.