NBA Hoops

NBA offseason winners, losers: Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers a great match; Knicks banking on Barrett, Brunson

NBA offseason winners, losers: Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers a great match; Knicks banking on Barrett, Brunson


Flying in off the top rope, the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled a Donovan Mitchell trade out from under the Knicks on Thursday. Mitchell in Cleveland makes the Cavs a very interesting team, but what does missing out on him mean for the Knicks

Thursday was also a big day for Collin Sexton, who was sent to Utah in the deal and inked a four-year, $72 million extension. We’re all still waiting on a Lakers trade. Will it happen? Until we know, the Lakers are among the teams with an incomplete offseason grade so far. 

For now, taking into account the draft, trades and free-agent signings, here is my list of 2022 offseason winners and losers. This post will continue to update as additional transactions are made.

Winner: Cleveland Cavaliers

Sexton was not in their long-term plans anyway. Lauri Markkanen is a fringe piece on a Cleveland team with plenty of size and now plenty of scoring (Hopefully Kevin Love can replace Markkanen’s spacing impact). Cleveland gave up three unprotected picks, but Mitchell is 25 years old and under contract for the next three years. That timeline matches Cleveland’s roster perfectly. They’re ready to win now, and if it doesn’t work out, for whatever reason, Mitchell — or Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley or Garland, for that matter — still will hold plenty of trade value in a couple years to go another route. Low risk, big reward move for the Cavs. 

In other offseason moves, Cleveland locked up Garland on a max rookie extension (big win for Garland at five years and a possible $231 million), and also brought back Ricky Rubio, who was a key piece for the Cavs as he got out to a surprisingly red-hot start last season. Rubio was the classic steadying force for a young team, averaging 13-6-4 before he tore his ACL last December and he will reunite with Mitchell, whom he played with in Utah. Robin Lopez also heads to Cleveland. He backs up Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen allowing Cleveland to stay big with multiple lineups. 

Winner: Donovan Mitchell

A New York kid, Mitchell might not see it like this just yet, but he’s in a better basketball position in Cleveland than he would’ve been with the Knicks. Darius Garland and Mitchell immediately comprise one of the most explosive scoring backcourts in the league, and Cleveland has two rim-protecting anchors to cover for the backcourt’s collective defensive deficiencies. 

Winner: Utah Jazz

Utah had seemingly hit its…

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