Analyst doesn't think Donovan Mitchell makes division rival better than Boston Celtics

All U Can Heat's Wes Goldberg believes that Donovan Mitchell's presence on the Brooklyn Nets would not move the needle for BK enough to be a true equal to the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, or even the Philadelphia 76ers. He does, however, feel Mitchell can do so for the Miami Heat if Pat Riley were able to pull off a deal for the Cleveland Cavaliers' 2024 free agency flight risk.

"If you’re the Nets, does pairing Mitchell with Bridges put you in the same class as the Celtics, Bucks and 76ers? After having recently gone all-in on Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, do they have the appetite for another star trade – and one that does not make them instant contenders at that? It’s fair to wonder how motivated Brooklyn would be to make Mitchell the face of their franchise," Goldberg wrote.

"In Brooklyn, Mitchell would have to be a floor raiser. In Miami, where he’d be playing with a pair of top 20 players in Jimmy Butler and Adebayo, he’d be considered a ceiling raiser. Based on Mitchell’s career so far, it’s safe to say he’s better equipped to be the latter."

Boston Celtics should fear the Heat landing Donovan Mitchell

Miami having another No. 1-type alpha scorer next to Jimmy Butler is nightmare fuel. If Mitchell landed with the Heat, the Celtics would match up far worse than they already do with the last team to eliminate them from the postseason.

While Boston matches up with Miami well as the Celtics are currently constructed, there'd be legitimate concerns about where the Cs would produce enough offense to stave off a Heat team with Mitchell on it. Too often is Boston overly reliant on the three, and if those are not falling in the playoffs, it'd have to be Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown hero ball to the rescue. That doesn't always happen, as the last two series losses for the Celtics showed.

The silver lining is that Jrue Holiday or Derrick White could target Mitchell in a postseason series, backing him down in the post and asserting their will with the undersized shooting guard. That's not exactly a 48-minute-long solution to Mitchell in Miami, though.