Cleveland Cavaliers

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith isn't happy about the Donovan Mitchell trade.

The Utah Jazz sent Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday in exchange for Lauri Markkanen, 2022 14th pick Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton, three unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Mitchell had been linked to the New York Knicks for months, but the franchise was unwilling to meet Danny Ainge's asking price, and now Smith is letting the franchise know how he feels about the lack of a deal.

"You got about seven or eight first-round picks. You got RJ Barrett. You got Julius Randle. You got [Obi] Toppin. You got Immanuel Quickley. And you still couldn't get Donovan Mitchell. You still couldn't get him.

"... They make me sick. Nothing ever gets done in New York with the Knicks. Nothing. ... It just never ends with the Knicks."

These are the F$&@ Knicks! This is what always happens! pic.twitter.com/F7HShDVpOS

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 1, 2022

The Knicks were viewed as the favorites to land Mitchell because they could have offered the Jazz the best combination of picks and players.

However, the franchise was reportedly "turned off" by Ainge's trade demands, which reportedly included a package of seven first-round picks, in addition to players, per Marc Berman of the New York Post.

The Knicks had eight tradable first-round picks but were unwilling to meet Ainge's request in fear of not being able to contend both now and in the future.

New York was aggressive in its pursuit of Mitchell but "temporarily walked away on talks on Monday night," per Wojnarowski, and the Cavaliers "aggressively pursued" the superstar guard before landing him.

"New York had the assets Utah preferred and the sides seemed to be inching closer to a trade Sunday night and into Monday, but the Knicks balked on including Quentin Grimes in a trade with RJ Barrett to acquire Mitchell, sources said," Wojnarowski wrote.

The Knicks proposed a deal including Quickley instead of Grimes, but the Jazz wanted three unprotected first-round draft picks as part of that sort of package, per Wojnarowski. The Knicks would have only wanted to include a third first-round pick that included top-five protections in such a deal.

Mitchell is the latest superstar New York has lost out on, and some fans are becoming irritable with the franchise failing to land the type of player that can help it get over the hump and make a deep postseason run.

In 2010, the Knicks made a run at LeBron James, but he opted to sign with the Miami Heat. Then in 2019, the Knicks were interested in adding Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, but the duo opted to join the cross-town rival Brooklyn Nets.

The franchise added Jalen Brunson this summer, but he's not the high-end type player fans were hoping for.

The Knicks haven't made a deep playoff run since they reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000. They've also just made the playoffs twice in the last ten seasons, and it seems like they could miss the cut again in 2022-23 as teams in the East continue to get better.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are suddenly contenders in the Eastern Conference after reportedly acquiring three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell in a trade with the Utah Jazz.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Cavs sent point guard Collin Sexton, forward Lauri Markkanen, 2022 No. 14 overall pick Ochai Agbaji, three first-round picks and two pick swaps to Utah to land the 25-year-old.

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Cavaliers' Updated Roster

PG: Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio, Raul Neto, RJ Nembhard Jr.

SG: Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Dylan Windler

SF: Cedi Osman, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens

PF: Evan Mobley, Kevin Love, Dean Wade

C: Jarrett Allen, Robin Lopez, Isaiah Mobley

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Per Spotrac, the Cavs' payroll now sits at $171.76 million for the 2022-23 season after the addition of Mitchell. The team is well over the max cap of $123.66 million.

The addition of Mitchell creates big expectations for Cleveland, as he's joining a talented roster that includes 2022 All-Stars Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen. Second-year forward Evan Mobley finished as the runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting last season after establishing himself as one of the best young defensive big men in the NBA.

Mitchell was selected to his third consecutive All-Star Game last year and averaged 25.9 points, 5.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. While he was efficient with a 44.8 field-goal percentage, he struggled from the outside and shot 35.5 percent from beyond the arc.

Pairing Mitchell with Garland creates one of the most dangerous backcourt duos in the league. Garland ranked sixth in the NBA with 8.6 assists per game to go with a career-best average of 21.7 points. He took over as Cleveland's No. 1 option on offense after Sexton was lost for the season because of a knee injury.

Now, Garland will have another star by his side as the Cavs continue their rise back to prominence.

Cleveland finished eighth in the East last year with a 44-38 record, a 22-win turnaround from the previous season. The Cavs' promising campaign ended with back-to-back losses in the play-in tournament, but it's clear that better days are ahead for the franchise.

Donovan Mitchell will not be a Cleveland Cavalier.

Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported the Cavaliers removed themselves from trade talks for the All-Star guard, leaving the deal as "the [New York Knicks'] to lose."

The Knicks have been engaged in trade talks with the Utah Jazz for several weeks, but it does not appear a deal is close at this time.

Utah has been seeking a combination of several future first-round picks and young talent for Mitchell, a New York native who would instantly be the Knicks' best player since Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks can trade up to eight future first-round picks but appear hesitant to throw all their chips to the center of the table for Mitchell. Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic reported the Knicks offered five first-round picks (two unprotected), guard Evan Fournier and forward Obi Toppin.

Utah is reportedly seeking a "significant" upgrade from that offer.

The Cavaliers can't match the type of future picks already offered by the Knicks and are unlikely to make budding young stars Darius Garland or Evan Mobley available for trade. That alone was likely enough to take Cleveland out of the running.

The Knicks' combination of trade assets and their desire to land a franchise star make them an overwhelming favorite to eventually land Mitchell. That said, the hesitance of Leon Rose to throw the full boat at Utah is valid.

Mitchell turns 26 in September and has never made an All-NBA team or gotten past the second round of the playoffs. While he's four years older, the Jazz traded the far more decorated Rudy Gobert earlier this offseason for four future first-round picks (and 2022 first-round pick Walker Kessler).

Gobert is the best defensive center of his generation and has three All-NBA selections on his resume. It's fair to wonder why it's a given that Mitchell would command more in a trade than his former teammate.

The Knicks would not have anything close to resembling a championship roster even with Mitchell in the fold. A core of Mitchell, Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson may be enough to be a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference, but they'd likely be in the bottom portion of that picture.

There is plenty of reason for optimism when it comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After all, they finished with a winning record in 2021-22, marking the first time they had done so since LeBron James left to join the Los Angeles Lakers after the 2017-18 season.

While the Cavaliers lost to the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament, the effort represented significant progress.

That progress may continue in 2022-23 with the core of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Lauri Markkanen all back to compete in what figures to be a challenging Eastern Conference.

Then there is Collin Sexton, who is a restricted free agent and is yet to sign a new deal with the team. But he could represent a major return after he appeared in just 11 games during the 2021-22 campaign because of a knee injury.

Here is a look at the schedule the Cavaliers will have to navigate if they are going to take the next step and reach the playoffs after falling just short last season.

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2022-23 Cavaliers Schedule Details

Season Opener: at Toronto Raptors, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. ET

Championship Odds: 120-1 (FanDuel)

Full Schedule: NBA.com

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Top Matchups

Chicago Bulls (First game: Oct. 22)

If the Cavaliers are going to go from play-in team to playoff team, they will likely need to leapfrog one of the top six seeds in the Eastern Conference.

The Chicago Bulls are a natural candidate to be that team considering they were the No. 6 seed and the final postseason squad to avoid the play-in tournament. They didn't make any drastic improvements this offseason and added role players in Andre Drummond and Goran Dragic following their first-round playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Chicago will still revolve around the trio of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic, with Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball key pieces in the backcourt. It may also benefit from internal improvements from younger players such as Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu.

The most important thing for the Bulls will be Ball remaining healthy after he appeared in just 35 games in 2021-22 because of a knee injury.

Cleveland's ability to compete with its Central Division rival figures to be critical in its efforts to make the playoffs by avoiding the play-in tournament.

The head-to-head games could determine tiebreakers and seeding, which will be all the more important in the efforts to avoid the Eastern Conference's top teams and realistic championship contenders.

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Atlanta Hawks (First game: Nov. 21)

Cleveland doesn't only have to leapfrog at least one playoff team to avoid the play-in tournament, it likely also has to hold off the other squads that were in the same position as it a season ago.

The Hawks are a natural candidate to make a deeper run in 2022-23 after they emerged from last season's play-in tournament with wins over the Charlotte Hornets and Cavaliers just to lose in the first round to the Miami Heat.

They seemed to be on the verge of long-term contention when they reached the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals with Trae Young as the primary building block, but they took a step back the following campaign.

However, they made a significant change to rectify that when they traded for Dejounte Murray this offseason.

Murray was a first-time All-Star last season who averaged a career-best 21.1 points, 9.2 assists, 8.3 rebounds and a league-best 2.0 steals per game for the San Antonio Spurs. His presence alongside Young in the backcourt will make life particularly difficult for opposing defenses, who will be unable to solely focus on one or the other.

The matchups between the Cavaliers and Hawks will feature intriguing backcourt showdowns with Garland and LeVert on one side and Murray and Young on the other.

They could also be important in the race for playoff positioning as Cleveland attempts to finish ahead of the team that ended its 2021-22 season.

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Season Forecast

Cleveland went 44-38 last season, but it is reasonable to expect improvement in 2022-23.

The young core has more experience together, LeVert will be there for an entire season after the Cavaliers acquired him from the Indiana Pacers in February, and Mobley is one of the league's top candidates to take a second-year jump.

The USC product was an All-Rookie first-team selection last season and also seemed to bring out the best in Allen, who was a first-time All-Star playing in the same frontcourt. Throw in Garland, who made his first All-Star Game in part because of his ability to set the big men up for success, and the playoffs should be the expectation in Cleveland.

However, the Eastern Conference is again a logjam.

The Heat, Boston Celtics, Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers are all realistic title contenders. The Toronto Raptors, Bulls and Hawks are also in playoff-or-bust mode. And the Brooklyn Nets are something of a wild card with enough talent to challenge for a championship but question marks after a turbulent offseason.

With expected improvement on the roster but a challenging road ahead in the conference, look for a slight bump in Cleveland's record.

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Record Prediction: 46-36

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Restricted free agent Collin Sexton and the Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to come to terms on a new contract. Negotiations "have not been contentious but remain at a standstill," according to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor (h/t RealGM).

The Cavaliers are willing to give Sexton a three-year, $40 million deal, but he was seeking $20 million annually.

The Cavs view their offer as reasonable. However, Sexton and his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, believe the 23-year-old is a "starting-caliber 2 guard who should be paid as such," per Fedor.

Cleveland cannot offer Sexton more than $13 million per year unless it is willing to dip into the luxury tax, which this year it is not, according to Fedor.

Sexton is one of the best players still on the free-agent market.

He appeared in only 11 games during the 2021-22 season before suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee. He averaged 16.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 45.0 percent from the floor and 24.4 percent from deep.

During the 2020-21 campaign, Sexton put together his best season, averaging 24.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steal in 60 games while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from deep.

The Cavs, though, finished 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 22-50 record. With Sexton out of the lineup in 2021-22, Cleveland finished eighth in the East with a 44-38 record and earned a spot in the play-in tournament.

Darius Garland drove the offense alongside Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Considering the Cavs played well without Sexton, it's not surprising that they aren't willing to increase their offer.

If Sexton and the Cavaliers can't agree to terms on an extension, Sexton can still accept his qualifying offer of $7.2 million and become an unrestricted free agent in summer 2023.

The Cleveland Cavaliers might have the cap space to sign LeBron James in 2023, but that's not currently in the team's plans, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

"The Cavs are not proceeding with the intention of getting LeBron for a third time," Vardon wrote.

James, a native of nearby Akron, Ohio, was drafted by the Cavaliers and spent his first seven years with the team. After leaving for the Miami Heat, he returned to Cleveland four years later and helped bring home an NBA title in 2016.

The 37-year-old is heading into his fifth season with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022-23, but he can become a free agent next summer and previously indicated a return to Cleveland is possible.

"The door’s not closed on that," James told Jason Lloyd of The Athletic in February. "I'm not saying I'm coming back and playing, I don't know. I don't know what my future holds. I don't even know when I'm free."

When LeBron returned to Cleveland in 2014, the squad hadn't made the playoffs in four years but had exciting young players, most notably Kyrie Irving. The team has once again gone four years without a postseason appearance going into 2022-23, but Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley represent an elite young core.

Adding James in 2023-24 could once again turn the team into a legitimate contender.

As Vardon noted, the Cavaliers also own their 2024 first-round pick, which could be used on James' oldest son, Bronny James. LeBron has said he wants to play alongside his son, but the Lakers don't have a first-round pick when Bronny is eligible in 2024.

Despite these connections, the Cavs seemingly aren't planning for LeBron's return and will instead build around the players already on the roster.

Vardon reported the superstar is eligible to sign a two-year extension with the Lakers on Thursday worth about $98 million.

"Multiple people" inside the Cleveland Cavaliers organization reportedly prefer having Caris LeVert over Collin Sexton on the Cavs roster.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com dropped that report during an appearance on the Lowe Post Podcast (h/t Peter Dewey of Cavaliers Nation):

"There are multiple people inside the organization that if they have their choice between Caris and Collin, they would take Caris over Collin because of the size, because of the length, because of the versatility that he can bring on the defensive end of the floor. And they liked what they saw with Caris and Darius together. Obviously, the numbers back that up."

Sexton, who missed all but 11 games last year with a torn meniscus he suffered against the New York Knicks on Nov. 7, is a restricted free agent.

LeVert, who landed in Cleveland after the Indiana Pacers traded him on Feb. 7, has one year remaining on his contract.

They've both played in the backcourt alongside Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland, a breakout star who earned a five-year, $193 million extension after a 2021-22 All-Star campaign. Garland quickly became the centerpiece of the team's future, and now the Cavs will have to decide how to build around him.

LeVert averaged 13.6 points on 43.5 percent shooting, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Cavs last year. He took more of an offensive backseat in Cleveland compared to Indiana, where he was asked to help carry the offense on a nightly basis. For the Pacers, LeVert averaged 18.7 points and 4.4 assists.

The Cavs can give LeVert a nine-figure extension on Aug. 7, per Evan Dammarell of Right Down Euclid:

Note: it doesn't have to be that amount but that's the absolute most that Cleveland can offer LeVert in an extension.

— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) July 21, 2022

Sexton was tremendous in 2020-21, averaging a career-high 24.3 points per game. His brief 2021-22 season saw his scoring figure dip to 16.0 points per game, although he played fewer minutes (35.3 MPG in 2020-21, 28.7 MPG in 2021-22).

As noted by RealGM, Sexton has a one-year, $7.2 million qualifying offer on the table from the Cavs. He can take that and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Or, he can take the reported three-year, $40 million deal that the Cavs have offered him, per Fedor, although he told ESPN's Zach Lowe that he doesn't think Sexton will go for it.

"The offer I reported, the three-year around $40 million, I don't get the sense Collin and his camp would take that," Fedor said in part.

"I don't think they would take a multi-year deal at that number. In fact, I think it would be more likely they would take the qualifying offer, go into unrestricted free agency next offseason..."

At any rate, the Cavs have some decisions to make. Garland is already going to stick around long-term. The same goes for All-Star center Jarrett Allen, who's entering the second season of a five-year, $100 million deal. Rookie of the Year runner-up Evan Mobley should stick around for a while too.

While it's conceivable that the Cavs have both Sexton and LeVert around next year, it doesn't appear as if that will be the case following the upcoming campaign. That leaves Cleveland with a choice to make, and it appears that the Cavs will try and keep LeVert around if the Fedor report is any indication.

The Dallas Mavericks are rumored to have interest in Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton, but the Cavs reportedly aren't "very attracted" to potential Mavs pieces that could be used in a sign-and-trade.

The topic was discussed on the Wine & Gold Talk podcast with Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor and Hayden Grove:

"The Dallas Mavericks have been rumored as a team that may have interest because they lost Jalen Brunson. They don’t have cap space. So it would have to be a sign-and-trade worked out with the Cavs. And I’m told that the Cavs are not very attracted to any of the pieces that Dallas would be willing to send back to them in a potential sign-and-trade."

Word emerged from Sam Amico of Hoopswire on June 30 that the Mavs could potentially be interested in Sexton—a restricted free agent—if they lost Jalen Brunson in free agency to the New York Knicks. That has happened as Brunson agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal with New York.

However, any potential interest in Sexton appears to have been negated by the Cavs, who extended a qualifying offer to him on June 28.

Sexton, 23, averaged 16.0 points in 28.7 minutes per game last season. He was limited to just 11 games after suffering a torn left meniscus in a November 7 game versus the New York Knicks.

The ex-Alabama star dominated the year before with a career-high 24.3 points per game alongside 4.4 assists.

It's unclear what Sexton's future holds, but the good news is that he's made a "complete recovery" from his injury and is cleared for basketball activities, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

Rival NBA executives believe Sexton could make $20 million per year on his next contract.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and point guard Darius Garland have agreed to the largest deal in franchise history.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski provided the details:

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Darius Garland has agreed on a five-year, $193M maximum designated rookie contract extension that could be worth as much as $231M, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. It is the largest deal in franchise history.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2022

The Cavs picked up Garland's 2022-23 option last October. He was set to become a restricted free agent in 2023 without a new deal.

That's not happening now, though, as the former Vanderbilt star is sticking in town.

Garland enjoyed a fantastic breakout season during his third NBA campaign, averaging 21.7 points on 46.2 percent shooting and 8.6 assists per game.

Thanks largely to his efforts, Cleveland went 44-38 and qualified for the play-in tournament, but the Cavs fell to the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks to miss out on the playoffs. Still, the Cavs doubled their win total from the year before, and optimism remains high in Cleveland.

It was an incredible effort considering that the Cavs lost Collin Sexton to a season-ending torn meniscus that held him to just 11 games. Sexton was the team's 2020-21 offensive focal point with a team-high 24.3 points per game.

The table appears set in Cleveland for success with Garland and center Jarrett Allen, who each made the All-Star Game this year.

Add Rookie of the Year runner-up Evan Mobley to the mix, and you have a solid core in Cleveland to build on for the future.

Signing Garland to a long-term deal is the biggest piece to that puzzle, and now the Cavs have set themselves up behind a budding superstar who can lead Cleveland to greater heights.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly expected to pursue forward T.J. Warren and guard Tyus Jones when the free-agency period kicks off at 6 p.m. ET Thursday.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com listed Warren and Jones among the top targets the Cavs could pursue as they look to bolster their roster, though their chances of landing both players are slim.

Cleveland can only offer its mid-level exception (starting salary of around $10.5 million) and bi-annual exception ($4.1 million) to free agents.

Jones will command a salary that eats up all of—if not more than—the mid-level and is reportedly looking for an expanded role. The Cavs can't offer much more than the same role he had in Memphis since Darius Garland is manning the point guard spot, and the Grizzlies can offer more in compensation for Jones to return.

It would take a significant downturn in Jones' market for him to wind up in Cleveland's price range.

Warren is a more realistic option, given he's coming off a foot injury that cost him all but four games over the last two seasons. He was fully recovered by the end of the 2021-22 season, but the Pacers kept him out of the lineup as he prepared for free agency. As Indiana settles into what will be a multiyear rebuild, it's unlikely Warren returns to the Pacers.

The Cavs could use Warren's scoring prowess on the wing, and the mid-level sounds right as an expected price range. Fedor theorized Cleveland could split its standard mid-level between Warren and Ricky Rubio, who is a strong candidate to return to the Cavs, but that seems highly optimistic.

Signing Warren and then using the bi-annual exception to bring back Rubio could get the job done.