BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
DONOVAN Mitchell is headed to the East after being traded to the Clevaland Cavaliers by Utah Jazz in a blockbuster deal on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines).
The move of the many-time NBA All-Star to the Cavaliers came after months of rumors that he is being pursued by New York Knicks from the Jazz via trade.
In exchange, the Jazz received Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochair Agbaji, three unprotected first-round draft picks and two pick swaps from the Cavaliers.
Prior to this, there were talks between the Jazz and the Knicks for the Mitchell trade but the negotiations bogged down giving Cleveland a chance to snag the veteran guard.
The arrival of the 6-foot-1 Mitchell was a major upgrade for the Cavaliers as it made them one of the NBA playoffs contenders in the Eastern Conference.
Mitchell, the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, will join a veteran-laden crew of Cavaliers led by centers Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, Kevin Love and Darius Garland.
Mitchell is the second former NBA All-Star that was let go by Utah after sending Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a separate blockbuster deal months ago.
Meanwhile, the Jazz is also making its other veteran players available for trades as it aimed to overhaul its roster for the upcoming 2022-2023 NBA Season.
Among those who were on the trading block, according to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, were Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson, Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley Jr.
The Jazz, however, intends to keep Sexton, Markkanen, Agbaji and Talen Horton-Tucker, which was acquired in a separate trade with Los Angeles Lakers, for their build up./PN
