In the first year of Donovan Mitchell with the Cleveland Cavaliers, they had one of the best records in the NBA. Locking themselves at fourth seed was fantastic, but their postseason performance was horrible as they succumbed to the New York Knicks. The Cavs front office added a couple of pieces to bolster their lineup, but they have dropped to ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 13-12 record.

On the same afternoon, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley were announced to miss multiple weeks because of a broken jaw and knee surgery, respectively. With the Cavs being a top-heavy squad, the responsibilities will naturally increase for Mitchell. Even with Mitchell leading the charge, it is not plausible for Cleveland to legitimately compete for a top-six spot in the East with a depleted squad.

Thus, another approach their front can take is to blow up their core and trade Donovan Mitchell while his value is exceptional. The NBA rules can complicate things for Cleveland when Evan Mobley receives his max extension, so that in mind, these are the top three trade destinations for Mitchell.

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Orlando Magic

With the incredible start of the Orlando Magic in their 2023-24 campaign, any star or big name on the market is rumored to land in their franchise. The primary reason for this is that they have a plethora of assets they can put on the table for someone like Mitchell, and their main guys are still in their rookie-scale contracts.

Orlando can fast-track their rebuilding process if they can land someone like Donovan Mitchell because he has proven that he can tally over 25 PPG in any given night. The Magic still lack a go-to offensive machine that is critical for any championship contender, so if Mitchell is somehow available before the trade deadline, they must be active in completing this trade.

Sacramento Kings

Another organization full of youthful individuals that have immense upside is the Sacramento Kings. After a myriad of seasons full of heartbreaks and losses, Sacramento captured the third seed in the West last season. The capabilities of this roster is very evident, but it is also obvious they still lack another star to catapult them to the mountaintop.

De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are spectacular franchise cornerstones, but they still need someone like Mitchell who can flourish as the No. 1 or No.2 scorer of the squad. Furthermore, Mitchell gives them another formidable option when defenses are focusing on their key cogs. In the postseason, the weaknesses of teams get heavily exposed so adding Donovan Mitchell eradicates the offensive issues the Kings had when Fox or Sabonis have an off night.

Golden State Warriors

This may catch most readers off guard, but there have been discussions and murmurs that the Golden State Warriors may decide to retool their lineup if this current crop of guys does not work out. Stephen Curry remains to be the lone individual carrying the cudgels for the Warriors, and it is not a sustainable approach if they want to have another deep playoff run.

Acquiring Donovan Mitchell will be a difficult deal to execute for Mike Dunleavy Jr., but he is the perfect secondary scorer to put alongside Curry. Chris Paul or Klay Thompson will likely need to be included in the package, but they will still have an elite roster with Curry and Mitchell at the forefront. Visualizing it is intriguing, but the Warriors are just third in this list because of the feasibility of the trade.