Team sends Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland Cavaliers
The Utah Jazz have acquired guards Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton, forward Lauri Markkanen, future first-round picks, and future first-round draft swaps from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for guard Donovan Mitchell, following the outcome of successful physicals.
“The Jazz had so many great moments with Donovan over the past five years as he developed into a perennial All-Star,” said Owner Ryan Smith. “But just as important was the lasting impact he made in Utah. He is an amazing human and touched the lives of so many through his engagement in the community. Our entire organization wishes him every success in his future. Once a Jazzman, always a Jazzman.”
"It was clear that in order to optimize our opportunity to create a team that could truly contend and establish sustained success, we needed to transition our roster,” said Jazz CEO of Basketball Danny Ainge. “In trading Rudy and now Donovan, it was a rare opportunity to maximize our ability to get quality talent and picks to best position us moving forward. We have a plan in place to help us assemble the championship team our fans deserve. It will take time to craft our roster. We all understand the work ahead and are committed to our vision."
“Ochai, Lauri and Collin are exciting young players, and we’re thrilled to add them to our roster,” said Jazz General Manager Justin Zanik. “We believe that they fit the Jazz culture and hard-nosed, competitive brand of basketball we’ve built here in Utah. They give us versatility and athleticism on both ends of the floor as we grow toward the future. We look forward to our fans getting to know them.”
Agbaji (6-5, 215, Kansas) was drafted in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Cavaliers with the 14th overall pick. A four-year collegiate player, the Kansas City, Mo., native averaged 18.8 points on 47.5 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three, along with 5.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists his senior season, earning 2021-22 Consensus All-America First Team and 2021-22 All-Big 12 First Team honors, also garnering the 2022 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player award.
Markkanen (7-0, 238, Arizona) is entering his sixth NBA season, owning career averages of 15.4 points, 6.8 boards, and 1.3 assists in 282 games (256 starts) with Chicago (2017-21) and Cleveland (2021-22). Originally drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the native of Finland was named to the 2017-18 All-Rookie First Team following his first professional season.
Sexton (6-1, 192, Alabama) has four years of NBA experience with the Cavaliers (2018-22), averaging 20.0 points on 45.8 percent shooting, 3.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 218 career games (208 starts). The native of Mableton, Ga. was named to the 2018-19 All-Rookie Second Team in his first professional campaign after being drafted by the Cavaliers with the eighth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Mitchell (6-3, 215, Louisville) was originally acquired by Utah via trade with Denver on Draft Night after being selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and appeared in 345 games (337 starts) as a Jazzman, owning career averages of 23.9 points, 4.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 33.7 minutes per contest, earning three-straight All-Star selections from 2019-22.
In the Jazz record books, Mitchell ranks second in all-time three-point field goals made (958), eighth in points (8,234) and field goals made (2,953). He also ranks first in all-time postseason three-pointers made (129), fourth in points (1,105) and seventh in assists (185).