'He Fits Perfect on This Team': Inside Cleveland's All-in Move for Donovan Mitchell
CLEVELAND — After signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer, veteran point guard Ricky Rubio's first assist of the season was a big one.
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman reached out to Rubio about one of his former teammates who had just become available. There was a real chance to acquire Donovan Mitchell, a 26-year-old three-time All-Star whom Rubio shared a starting backcourt with from 2017-2019 as members of the Utah Jazz.
Any trade for Mitchell would be extremely costly, however, and it would potentially disrupt some of the good vibes the young Cavs had built up last season while doubling their win total from 22 to 44 games.
Still, Rubio didn't hesitate with his advice.
"I said go for it. At the end of the day, I think it takes us to the next level. He's that type of player all teams need to win a championship," Rubio told Bleacher Report. "I think he fits perfect on this team."
So far, Rubio's advice to Altman has paid off.
Mitchell is averaging a whopping 32.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 45.5 percent from three, leading the Cavs to a 5-1 start. He looks better defensively than ever, with Cleveland beating opponents by 24.6 points per 100 possessions with Mitchell on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.
The vibes are still quite good for these Cavs despite the massive roster shakeup.
"We didn't have to make any concessions on character over talent with Donovan," head coach J.B. Bickerstaff stated. "We had that information before the deal was done."
A swing-for-the-fence trade that seemed like a long shot at first eventually sent shockwaves throughout the organization.
Darius Garland got the call from Altman and took a break from his workout to go running and screaming around the gym. Kevin Love immediately texted Mitchell and got his new teammate on a FaceTime call within minutes. Jarrett Allen was napping, but he woke up to a text that simply read "Donovan Mitchell" before hopping on Twitter to get all of the details.
Small-market teams like Cleveland rarely trade for stars of Mitchell's caliber. The last time the Cavs made a move this big, it was only because LeBron James' recruiting helped convince Love to come to town and eventually re-sign in free agency the following year.
Now, it's up to a cast of rising young stars including Garland, Allen and second-year forward Evan Mobley to make Mitchell feel at home.
While Mitchell was immediately thrust into a No. 1 role on offense as a rookie with the Jazz after Gordon Hayward left in free agency, his role may be changing over time in Cleveland.
Garland, fresh off signing a five-year, $194.3 million max extension this offseason, is the best point guard Mitchell has ever played alongside (with no offense to Rubio). The addition of Mitchell also means Garland can return to his pass-first preferred style of play, something he was forced out of a year ago as injuries to Collin Sexton, Rubio and other key Cavs piled up.
"This year, adding Donovan, it takes away a couple more shots, but that's perfectly fine with me," Garland told B/R. "I'd rather get my teammates involved than taking 20 shots anyways."
"I mean, last year they had to make me shoot shots. I wanted to come in and get my teammates involved and try to make them better. The coaching staff and my teammates have to tell me to keep shooting and go out there and play freely, so that's what I try to do. I mean, I'm pretty happy to add Donovan so I won't have to shoot as many shots."
The Cavs' plan is to have either Garland or Mitchell on the floor at all times, giving the team at least one elite offensive option to lean on. That should be a welcome break for Mitchell, who finished sixth in usage rate last season (32.9 percent), behind only Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young and Ja Morant while leading the Jazz to the No. 1 offense in the NBA.
A bigger offensive workload didn't necessarily equal success for Mitchell with the Jazz, however.
Utah was 11-2 last season when Mitchell took 17 shots or fewer but just 8-12 when he shot 23 times or more. With other bucket-getters like Garland, Caris LeVert, Love, Allen and Rubio (when he returns from a torn ACL), this should be the least amount of offensive responsibility that Mitchell has ever had.
"Yeah it's going to be fun, man," LeVert told B/R when talking about having him, Mitchell and Garland all on the floor at the same time. "Defenses are going to have to make a decision every single time. Who are you going to put your weakest defender on? Who are you going to leave off of drives, and stuff like that."
This is without even mentioning Mobley, Cleveland's rookie sensation from last season. Mitchell, Garland and Allen were all All-Stars last year, but this Cavs team is built around the 21-year-old Mobley.
Ask anyone on the coaching staff or in the front office about Mobley's future, and the word "superstar" is uttered. That term hasn't been used to describe Mitchell, Garland, Allen, Sexton or anyone else throughout the course of a rebuild that began in 2018.
Mobley averaged 15.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocks and shot 50.8 percent overall as a rookie. His ability to defend all over the floor without fouling (just 2.1 in 33.8 minutes per game last year) is nearly unheard of, especially for someone his size and age. Mobley's defensive estimated plus/minus of plus-2.3 last season ranked in the 96th percentile leaguewide, tied with players like Anthony Davis and Robert Williams III.
The Cavs view Mobley as the pillar to build their team around. They believe he'll win Defensive Player of the Year one day. Mobley acknowledges the frequent Kevin Garnett comparisons while also noting he tries to steal bits and pieces from other skilled big men with similar frames.
Cleveland isn't trying to replicate Utah and run everything through Mitchell while surrounding him with spot-up shooters and a defensive anchor (although Allen is quite similar to Rudy Gobert). On this roster, Mitchell will eventually be the Robin to Mobley's Batman, a role that will continue to evolve as the season goes along.
Mobley spent his first NBA offseason getting stronger, shooting threes and working on his playmaking. Although he's a true 7-footer, he plans to expand his offensive game to all over the floor.
"You'll see me on the perimeter more this year," Mobley said before the season started. Meanwhile, Garland emphasized that "Evan can bring it up and run the offense if he wants to."
Bickerstaff is hoping Mitchell's vocal ability transfers to Mobley, one of the most soft-spoken players in the league. The Cavs are aiming to transform the tall, skill-laden ball of clay into a defensive dynamo who can score from all three levels and start to use his voice more.
Mitchell is currently fifth in the NBA in scoring in the early going. "You can give him the ball and he'll get you a bucket at any time," Rubio said.
As time moves on, however, more and more offensive focus will shift toward Mobley.
Picture a prime Minnesota Timberwolves version of Garnett, surrounded by a backcourt of Mitchell and Garland, an elite rim protector in Allen and quality role players like LeVert, Love, Rubio, Isaac Okoro and others. This is the path Cleveland has put itself on.
Giving up three first-round picks, two pick swaps and three high-upside players in Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and Ochai Agbaji is typically the price a team pays for a savior, not a sidekick.
The Cavs view the Mitchell trade as an investment, however. Cleveland may not compete for a title this season, but perhaps no team has as bright of an immediate future if Mobley reaches the level this franchise feels he can.
Fair or not, failing to advance past the second round means Mitchell ultimately failed as a No. 1 option despite all of his regular-season and playoff success in Utah.
Now alongside Mobley, Mitchell will begin his new chapter as a superstar sidekick—a role the Cavs hope will produce far better postseason results.
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