Boston Celtics beat reporter asks perfect question after Donovan Mitchell trade

Boston Celtics beat reporter Jay King, who covers the Cs on behalf of The Athletic, had the perfect question to ask the world following Donovan Mitchell’s shocking trade from the Utah Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers…

Jon Krawczynski, who covers the Minnesota Timberwolves, countered by saying that Anthony Edwards’ presence makes acquiring Rudy Gobert a smarter direction to take for Minnesota instead of pursuing Mitchell when they had the chance. Krawczynski also went as far as to say that Mitchell better suits Cleveland’s needs, whereas Gobert more suitably covers up the Wolves’ weaknesses.

Still, it’s hard not to look at the four unprotected first-round picks the Timberwolves gave Utah to land the ‘Stifle Tower’ and wonder if they could have paid less to land Mitchell, who was acquired for three future firsts and two pick swaps.

Former Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge nailed the Donovan Mitchell deal

While he is no longer ‘trader Danny’ in the Boston Celtics organization, Danny Ainge is still making his impact felt at the executive level in the NBA. Ainge is now the CEO of the Jazz, and he was the brains behind both the Gobert and Mitchell moves.

While the draft picks were the strength of the Gobert trade, there are legitimate building blocks making their way from Cleveland. Collin Sexton is the new ball-dominant ball-handler in Salt Lake City, having been signed-and-traded from a Cavs team that replaced him with Ricky Rubio, and now, Mitchell. He is a season removed from scoring 24 points per game and could well continue to develop into a star with the keys to the offense in his hands.

Lauri Markkanen is a frontcourt piece that fits in perfectly next to Walker Kessler, the rookie out of Auburn who may well end up providing similar production to Gobert. Meanwhile, national champion perimeter threat Ochai Agbaji out of Kansas could replace the catch-and-shoot contributions Utah got from departed veterans Royce O’Neal and Joe Ingles.

Ainge has built something real in Utah, and if the last Boston Celtics rebuild from 2013-14 is any indication, it may not be long before the Jazz are back in the Western Conference postseason picture assuming his roster-building continues at this rate.