design: Lincoln Hake
permission to print: Kari Phillips
The Cleveland Cavaliers is a much different team than it was a few years ago. The Cavaliers have made great trades and done a very good job drafting, bringing tons of talent to the Cavaliers roster. I believe that the Cavaliers can be a great team and contenders for years to come.
The Cavaliers acquired Donovan Mitchel in a trade with Utah this offseason. This blockbuster trade sent Donovan Mitchel to the Cavaliers for Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, rookie Ochai Agbaji, three first round picks, and two pick swaps according to ESPN.The Cavaliers certainly did give up a lot, but Mitchell is not a player that is going to be given up easily.
Mitchell played five seasons with the Utah Jazz and in those five seasons, he was a three time all-star. He finished his career with the Jazz averaging 23.9 points per game, 4.5 assist per game, and 4.2 rebounds per game according to ESPN.
Donovan was the star of the team ever since he arrived, and the departure is going to hurt the Jazz significantly. But for the Cavaliers, he could be the final piece to what the team needs to go on a championship run.
Cleveland has done a good job drafting the past few years, Acquiring Darius Garland in the 2019 draft and Evan Mobely in the 2021 draft. These two players were dominant last season and were a huge reason why the Cavaliers had as many wins as it did.
Last season, Garland averaged 21.7 point per game, with 8.6 assists per game to go along with that according to ESPN. Mobely averaged 15 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game last year according to ESPN, a very impressive year for a rookie.
Garland was an elite playmaker last year and the addition of Donovan Mitchell just makes this team even more deadly. You never know whether Garland will shoot or pass, and this unpredictability is something that every team in the NBA could use.
Mobely has a chance to prove this year that he should have won rookie of the year, and that he can be a dominant player on a championship team. He was a big factor last year and the 7 foot forward has shown no sign of a decreasing role.
With how good the Cavaliers stars are, you would think that the team does not have much of a bench unit or even good role players for that matter. But that is actually not the case.
Cleveland has Jarret Allen at center, who was an all-star last season. It’s kind of surprising to say that he isn’t one of the best three players on this Cavaliers team as he would be for pretty much any other team in the league, but he is beat talent wise by all three of these players.
The Cavaliers’ good role players include Issac Okoro, Cedi Osman, Ricky Rubio, and my two personal favorite players, Caris Lavert and Kevin Love. All the players are known as very good role players across the league, have lots of experience and some even have finals experience.
One of my favorite Cavaliers role players is Caris Lavert. Lavert is arguably an all-star caliber player on a different team. Laverts best year came in the 20-21 season where he was traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Indiana Pacers. Once he arrived in Indiana, he averaged 20.7 points per game, 4.9 assist per game, and 4.6 rebounds per game according to ESPN.
It is important to note that those averages came after getting a cancerous mass removed from his kidney mid-season. After seeing what Lavert did after coming back from this adversity, it really shows how much of a love Lavert has for the game of basketball.
With the new look Cavaliers, fans have very high expectations. With this talent stacked roster, there is only one big question still to be answered. Can they take a trip to the NBA finals?
