New Donovan Mitchell Trade Packages for Lakers, Nets and Teams with 'Offers Ready'
With news breaking that Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell may miss Wednesday's elimination game against the Boston Celtics, and with ESPN's Brian Windhorst reporting that multiple teams are ready to pounce for the All-Star, there's a real chance we've already watched Mitchell's last game in the wine and gold.
On Get Up, Windhorst said the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets "have their offers ready," and it's not hard to imagine others lining up this offseason.
Mitchell is 27 years old and has the seventh-highest career playoff scoring average in NBA history at 28.1 points. It's easy to see why a number of teams might be willing to give up significant assets for him. As a point or combo guard, he can change someone's fortunes.
Realistic offers for the Lakers, Nets and others around the league we imagine could have "offers ready" can be found below.
Lakers Take Some Pressure off LeBron and AD
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The Deal: Donovan Mitchell for Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, a 2029 first-round pick, a 2030 first-round pick swap and a 2031 first-round pick
We'll start with the glitziest market that could be in the mix for Mitchell this summer. The Lakers just made the conference finals in 2023, but Anthony Davis is 31 and LeBron James will turn 40 this coming season.
The Denver Nuggets (who've eliminated the Lakers in each of the last two campaigns), Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks aren't going anywhere, and it's fair to wonder if the "LeBron, AD and depth" model is still good enough to contend, especially if the "depth" part of that equation just isn't very good.
Turning multiple role players into Mitchell would crack L.A.'s title window open just a bit more while also laying a foundation for the post-LeBron era.
A one-two punch with Mitchell and AD, assuming it's surrounded by a decent supporting cast, could keep the Lakers in contention for the next half-decade.
For the Cavaliers, this deal probably only makes sense if some other suitor can't beat it.
The writing seems to be on the wall for Mitchell's eventual departure. If he won't sign beyond the 2024-25 season, Cleveland has to get something for him. And plenty of teams can offer more draft capital than L.A. can. Those who can afford to give up a ton would have the same dilemma as the Cavs, though. If a team like the Thunder or New Orleans Pelicans acquired Mitchell, they'd probably just be watching the clock till his contract expires, too.
If Mitchell's desire for a big market suppresses his value a bit, the Lakers' ability to send multiple picks, two players who can help right now and a prospect is at least intriguing.
And though losing Mitchell would probably mean Cleveland was taking a half step away from contention, there's a chance this trade could bring a little more balance to the roster. The backcourt wouldn't be quite as small with Reaves, and Hachimura could provide some spacing for a frontcourt that desperately needs it.
Nets Go All-In...Again
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The Deal: Donovan Mitchell for Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Thomas, a 2027 first-round pick (via Phoenix), a 2028 first-round pick, a 2030 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick swap
Recent Nets history contains more than one attempt to sacrifice the future for the good of the present.
They infamously gave up the farm for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in 2013. In 2019, they cleared the books for Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan (yes, DeAndre Jordan). Then, they doubled down on that experiment by trading for James Harden.
And now that they're just starting to catch a glimpse of daylight on the horizon after moving all three of Harden, Irving and Durant, it sounds like Brooklyn might be ready to chase another star.
If the Nets are going to pursue Mitchell, they'd almost certainly want to keep Mikal Bridges out of the deal. Getting Mitchell to stay beyond this current contract probably means the team has to be good right away. Keeping Bridges is essential to accomplishing that.
So instead of having him in the deal, Brooklyn can offer two rotation wings who'd bring a little more balance to the Cavs roster, a heat-check scorer to back up Garland and some draft capital.
Assuming they re-sign Nic Claxton, the Nets would emerge with a solid (though probably not contending) guard-wing-big combo with Mitchell-Bridges-Claxton. The Cavs would be deeper on both the roster and in their trove of future assets.
Heat Bet on the Culture
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The Deal: Donovan Mitchell for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jović, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick
Despite the lack of draft assets the Miami Heat can offer, this one might be more interesting to Cleveland than either of the previous offers.
Tyler Herro won Sixth Man of the Year in 2021-22. Jaime Jaquez Jr. showed some point forward potential as a rookie. And Nikola Jović looks like exactly the kind of shooting big who'd make sense next to either Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley.
And all three of those players are either on or near the developmental timelines of Garland and Mobley.
This trade makes Cleveland deeper, better balanced and younger. For the Heat, it's a swing for the fences, and a pretty risky one at that.
Jimmy Butler turns 35 in September, and he just missed this postseason run with an injury. As he gets older, there's certainly no guarantee he'll suddenly move past his issues with availability.
This trade also, pretty clearly, impacts the Heat's depth and future.
But NBA titles are won by stars, and this move would give Miami three who, at least on paper, fit well together.
Brooklyn's potential guard-wing-big combo of Mitchell, Bridges and Claxton would be interesting, but Mitchell, Butler and Bam Adebayo could contend for a title as early as 2025.
Assembling the rest of the supporting cast would be tricky, but the Heat and coach Erik Spoelstra have been as good as anyone at unearthing and developing unsung talent.
Magic Speed Up the Timeline
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The Deal: Donovan Mitchell for Anthony Black, Jett Howard, a 2025 first-round pick (via Denver), a 2026 first-round pick, a 2028 first-round pick, a 2030 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick swap
The Orlando Magic aren't in a big market like Los Angeles or New York. They're not even in the glitziest market in their own state. Surrendering real assets for a potential flight risk could go horribly wrong.
But this is also an opportunity for Orlando to pounce on a superstar who probably wouldn't even look its way in free agency.
Because the Magic's two best players (Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero) are still on their rookie deals, Orlando can get to enough cap space to absorb most of Mitchell's salary this summer.
And if Cleveland is interested in a trade that gives it a bit more optionality going forward, the Magic can help. Two prospects and at least four picks could either set the Cavs up for a brighter future or give them some fodder to take into other trade conversations.
As for Orlando, in spite of the chance Mitchell might just bolt in 2025, it desperately needs another offensive creator. It has the defensive talent and prowess to cover for Mitchell's deficiencies on that end, too.
And a top trio of Mitchell, Banchero and Wagner, backed up by the tenacious defense of Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac, could make the Magic good enough in 2024-25 to convince Mitchell to stick around long-term.
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