The Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to a blockbuster NBA trade on Thursday afternoon that brought an end to the Donovan Mitchell trade saga.
Mitchell is heading to Cleveland with a package of three players, three unprotected first-round picks and two swaps heading back to Salt Lake City.
The Jazz are acquiring Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton and No. 14 overall pick Ochai Agbaji. 2025, 2027 and 2029 are when the unprotected first-round picks are from and the pick swaps can occur in 2026 and 2028.
One of the biggest takeaways from this deal is that Sexton signed a long-term deal to help facilitate it. There have been rumors throughout the offseason that his representation, Klutch Sports, and the Cavaliers have been far apart in contract negotiations, but a deal was reached to complete this deal.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Cleveland Cavaliers & Utah Jazz Updates
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Sexton agreed to a four-year, $72 million deal to join the Jazz. That falls right about in the middle of the numbers that were being exchanged, as the Cavaliers were around $16 million but Sexton was pushing for closer to $20 million.
That is a fair contract for a player of Sexton’s caliber. He is coming off of a season lost to injury in which he appeared in only 11 games after tearing his meniscus. But, in the previous season when he was healthier, he averaged 23.4 points per game.
Explosive scoring of that nature that comes at all three levels is certainly worth something in the NBA. Sexton was efficiently doing it as well and will likely be part of the foundation of the rebuild beginning in Utah.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Cleveland Cavaliers & Utah Jazz Updates
However, there is certainly some work for Collin Sexton to do when it comes to rounding out his game, which is part of the reason that he didn’t receive as much money as he was hoping. He has limitations defensively with his size, but you will never have to question his motor. Improving as a playmaker would also make him a more dangerous offensive player overall.
