Donovan Mitchell did his best to help keep the Cleveland Cavaliers’ championship hopes alive after the franchise’s deflating Game 1 Eastern Conference loss to the New York Knicks.
The seven-time All-Star recorded 80 points in the Cavaliers’ following three contests, but unfortunately, Cleveland was swept by the New York Knicks in playoff round No. 3 and denied its first NBA Finals bid since 2018. Should Mitchell be considered an untouchable asset this summer after guiding the Cavaliers to a deep postseason run?
Absolutely, as the best-case scenario would be Mitchell signing a contract extension with the Cavaliers and continuing to operate as the organization’s go-to scoring option. However, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz thinks otherwise, citing that he believes Cleveland could trade Mitchell for a former Golden State Warriors three-time NBA champion.
“A Dejounte Murray-Mitchell backcourt should be extremely enticing for the (New Orleans) Pelicans, especially paired with a frontcourt of Jones, (Zion) Williamson, and (Derik) Queen. For a team that nearly played .500 basketball over the last two-plus months of the season, this would be an aggressive move toward making the playoffs next year,” Swartz wrote last Tuesday.
“For Cleveland, (Trey) Murphy is the small forward this team has craved for years. The 25-year-old averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and made 3.2 threes per game at a 37.9 percent clip. His remaining three-year, $87 million contract is going to age extremely well.”
“(Jeremiah) Fears was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 draft and put up 14.3 points and 3.4 assists as a rookie. He could learn under James Harden or start in the backcourt next to the future Hall of Famer. (Saddiq) Bey quietly averaged 17.7 points per game in a return from a torn ACL, and (Kevon) Looney gives the Cavs a reliable backup center (a 2028 first-round pick would also be included in the deal).”
Looney wasn’t much of a factor during his first season in New Orleans, only contributing 2.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 41.7% from the field in 21 contests. However, Looney’s reputation as a valuable 30-year-old glue guy and high-motor low-post threat would likely give the Cavaliers reason to believe he could be a serviceable second-unit big man.
The UCLA product’s commitment to doing all the dirty work with the Dubs during his 10-year stint with the franchise played an integral role in Golden State’s success in the late 2010s (three titles).
Obviously, Cleveland would be far more excited to land Murphy, Fears, Bey, and a future draft pick in Swartz’s trade proposal, but Looney’s a contributor that shouldn’t be slept on.
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