The East is STACKED! The Cleveland Cavaliers have made themselves contenders overnight by acquiring Utah’s Donovan Mitchell for 3 unprotected 1st-round picks and 3 players.
How many great teams are there in the East now? 7? Well, you can definitely add the Cleveland Cavaliers to that mix as by acquiring Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers hierarchy have instantly turned this team from a Play-In hopeful to a Top-3 Eastern Conference contender.
For one, Cleveland’s backcourt is now arguably the best in the East. Donovan Mitchell brings his career averages of 23.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG, and a lethal 36.1 3-point shooting percentage to Cleveland’s vacant shooting guard spot.
Meanwhile, Darius Garland, Cleveland’s other guard, is coming off a career high of 21.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 8.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, and an even better 38.3% 3-point shooting percentage. Simply put, Cleveland’s backcourt not only now has the ability to shred opposing teams from both the 3-point line and from the field, but can also defend the perimeter too.
And when you add All-Star (well, All-Star reserve) center Jarrett Allen and promising power forward Evan Mobley to that mix, this Cleveland team will be able to score from both the rim and the 3-point line with ease, something they haven’t been able to do since the days of the LeBron, Kyrie, and Kevin Love “Big 3”.
Yes, losing Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and their 2022 1st-round pick Ochai Agbaji does hurt the Cavaliers depth, especially the loss of former starting guard Collin Sexton.
But the scoring talents of Mitchell should more than make up for that. Plus, the Cavaliers also have Ricky Rubio and Caris LeVert to backup Garland and Mitchell if needed.
While the loss of three 1st-round picks is a heavy price for Mitchell, if Golbert went for four and the Nets wanted 5-7 for Durant, I think getting Mitchell for only three is a steal.
Anyways, does this move make Cleveland automatically championship favorites? Uh, no, probably not. Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley are still really young, while Mitchell isn’t the superstar that can take a team to a Finals by himself.
That job will be Garland’s…but his time will come in a few more years.
I really don’t know what standings position the Cleveland Cavaliers will come in next season as there are at least seven teams I can think off the top of my head (Celtics, Heat, Bucks, Nets, Hawks, Raptors, and Bulls) that will also be competing for 1st place in the East.
The only thing I can predict is that the Cavs will be in the race for one of the most contentious playoffs battle the Eastern Conference of the NBA has seen in a long time. I can’t wait for opening night!
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