The Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes have officially come to an end. After weeks of negotiations, the Utah Jazz have traded their three-time NBA All-Star, not to the New York Knicks, but to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cleveland will be sending Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, who was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, three unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029 and two pick swaps in 2026 and 2028. Ultimately, the third unprotected pick that Cleveland was willing to offer is what the Jazz saw as worthwhile trumping the Knicks’ offer.
With the Mitchell trade now complete, the Jazz have acquired eight unprotected or lightly protected first-round picks this offseason along with three pick swaps. That war chest of draft capital will likely continue filling in the coming weeks.
Utah can now focus on making deals for other veterans on the team as they are all-in on rebuilding. According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, the Jazz are already engaged in trade talks with some of the other pieces they have.
“The Jazz are, according to sources, also engaged in trade conversations around its remaining pieces, namely veterans forward Bojan Bogdanovic, guard Mike Conley and guard Jordan Clarkson.”
That process already started when they flipped Patrick Beverley to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson. The Lakers could come back for another deal, as they have shown interest in Bojan Bogdanovic as well.
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With all of the pieces that Utah has acquired, it makes sense that they would look to move the remaining veterans on the team. A 30-year-old Jordan Clarkson doesn’t have much value to a rebuilding Jazz team as a high-scoring combo guard off the bench.
The 34-year-old Mike Conley Jr. would likely prefer to end up with a contending team so that he can vie for a title, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jazz held onto him. After all, a young team needs some veteran leadership to lean on and he would fill that role excellently.
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Alas, if Danny Ainge is presented with a strong offer that helps improve the future outlook, it will be hard for him to turn a deal down. Draft picks are the focus for Utah and they will assuredly be adding a few more before training camp.
