Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell Trade Lands Concerning Take

The Cleveland Cavaliers' trade for Donovan Mitchell definitely comes with some risk.

Jan 10, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) keeps the ball from Utah Jazz forward Simone Fontecchio (16) during the second quarter at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports / Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

About two years ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Donovan Mitchell in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz.

The Cavaliers sent Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, two first-round draft picks to the Jazz in exchange for Mitchell. The two sides also agreed to three first-round pick swaps.

While the early returns on the deal have been solid for Cleveland, as Mitchell has led the Cavs to back-to-back playoff appearances while earning All-Star appearances in each of his first two campaigns with the squad, Bleacher Report's NBA staff has revealed some concerns about the trade.

While Bleacher Report gave the Cavaliers a decent B-plus grade for the deal, it also expressed some worries about the potential risk.

More specifically, the staff wonders if the Mitchell-Darius Garland pairing will ever truly get in sync and whether or not Cleveland's "core four" will mesh over the course of the long haul.

Bleacher Report added that the Cavs have "plenty of time to figure it out," but qualified the statement by saying that the front office may have to tinker with the roster with more trades.

Of course, it doesn't help matters that Markkanen has turned into a bona fide All-Star with the Jazz after posting disappointing results in his lone Cavaliers season.

There is no question that there is some risk involved here for Cleveland, but sometimes, you need to take those risks in order to reach the next level.

Plus, hindsight is 20/20. Markkanen only averaged 14.8 points per game on 44.5/35.8/86.8 shooting splits with the Cavs in 2021-22. That was also his fifth NBA season, so it was beginning to look like he was never going to truly break out. That he finally emerged as a star in Utah is not something you can really rip the Cavaliers for.

Cleveland should be a playoff team for the next several years, but if the Cavs are still unable to make a deep playoff run, then perhaps they do need to start thinking about a significant change.