In the wake of the news that Evan Mobley and Darius Garland would be sidelined until early 2024, vultures began to circle the Cleveland Cavaliers. Losing Mobley and Garland is a huge blow for Cleveland and will impact their style of play and whether they can keep winning without either player. If the losses pile up, the vultures appear slightly closer overhead. That's because Donovan Mitchell, whose long-term intentions to stay with the Cavs are unclear, could become a trade target, ripe for the picking.
It has always been an area of contention from the moment Cleveland acquired Mitchell from the Utah Jazz before the start of last season. Mitchell and everyone else expected him to be traded to the New York Knicks. When he landed with the Cavs, the narrative shifted to not if Mitchell would join New York but, rather, a case of when Mitchell would inevitably join the Knicks, his childhood team. The Brooklyn Nets have also constantly been speculated as a destination.
Will Cavs entertain a Donovan Mitchell trade?
If the losses keep piling up in a world without Mobley and Garland, the noise about when Mitchell moves on from Cleveland would only get louder.
Somehow, if the bottom gave out and the Cavs fell from a playoff hopeful to a team with high draft lottery odds, sure, why not entertain the noise? If Cleveland knows they won't satisfy Mitchell, it's better to rip the band-aid off now rather than later. Would it be tough to see RJ Barrett in a Cavaliers uniform? Or how about Cam Johnson in the Wine and Gold?
The simple answer to either question is a definitive yes, considering what the Cavs gave up to get Mitchell. But explaining the idea of Tyler Herro taking out his yacht on the waters of Lake Erie since he's the fodder for the Miami Heat to acquire Mitchell is even more disheartening.
See? It's easy to get caught up in it all, especially when the reality of the situation seems dire. Thankfully, the noise became a whisper for the time being when Cleveland knocked off the visiting Atlanta Hawks 127-119 in their first game after the news concerning Mobley and Garland. Mitchell was the central figure of the win, dishing out a career-high 13 assists, and looking locked in all night on defense.
In a micro sense, it all feels encouraging for the Cavs after they lost two of their most important players and were dealing with a three-game slide. But, in a macro sense, it's foolhardy to think the Cavs will get this kind of performance from Mitchell every night. There will be some ugly losses on the way, and all Cleveland can do is try their best to drown out the noise or the vultures overhead. But having the ability to lean on moments like these can make things easier.
Again, the only way the Cavs should seriously entertain trading Mitchell is because they're on the fast track to acquire Ron Holland or Matas Buzelis. Having Mitchell would risk Cleveland's chances of getting a top pick and, more importantly, it'll be pretty clear he doesn't want to be here if the Cavs are preparing for the NBA Draft Lottery. But it's unlikely that Cleveland will ever get to that point since Mitchell and Jarrett Allen, two All-Stars, are carrying the load left by Mobley and Garland.
So, for now, the Cavs can keep on keeping on. But, no matter what, the vultures are much closer than before.
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