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ESPN Senior Writer- Dr. André Snellings is a senior writer for men's and women's fantasy basketball and sports betting at ESPN. André has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Michigan. He joined ESPN in 2017 after a 16-year career as a neural engineer, during which time he was also a writer and analyst for Rotowire.
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ESPN Writer- Eric Moody is a writer for fantasy football, men's and women's basketball, and sports betting at ESPN. Eric joined ESPN in 2021 after working as a senior fantasy analyst at Pro Football Network. Prior to that, he spent much of his career as a manager at a Fortune 100 financial services company.
Donovan Mitchell is changing teams, but how much will that affect his fantasy value?
The former Utah Jazz star is reportedly headed to Cleveland -- not New York -- after months of rumors had linked him to the Knicks. To pull off the blockbuster deal, the Cavaliers are sending Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji and unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029 as well as pick swaps in 2026 and 2028.
So how does that impact things in the fantasy basketball world? Here are ESPN fantasy experts André Snellings and Eric Moody to go over the big questions and fantasy fallout from Thursday's shocking deal.
Can Mitchell maintain the same production on the Cavs, and where should he be drafted now compared to before the trade?
Snellings: Mitchell joins a Cavs team that is suddenly full of talent and depth. Ironically, he is very similar stylistically to the man he replaces, Sexton, who is also a scoring lead guard type. But, Sexton was injured last season, which allowed Darius Garland to have a career season.
With Garland and Mitchell in the same backcourt, both of their sets of fantasy numbers likely suffer. Garland sacrifices scoring volume but might increase his assists output. Mitchell also might have a cap on his scoring, and his assists might dwindle as well. Their shared presence might help both shoot more efficiently, though. Caris LeVert could also be affected, as he now becomes the No. 3 option among perimeter scorers.
My initial thought is to drop Mitchell further in the rankings, from the second round to as much as late third. Garland might drop slightly, but he has more ways to contribute, so he's still in the mix for a third-round pick for me.
Moody: I'm more bullish on Mitchell maintaining his scoring numbers and overall fantasy value. Mitchell has established himself as one of the league's top offensive players in his five seasons in the league, averaging better than 25 PPG and 5 APG during each of the past two seasons, and he's one of only 12 players to do so. He also scored 689 points on drives last season, which was seventh best in the league. Mitchell and Garland should be able to share the ball enough for fantasy success. There were 33 players with at least 150 isolation plays last season. On those plays, Garland and Mitchell ranked first and seventh, respectively, in effective field goal percentage.
At the moment, Mitchell has an average draft position (ADP) of 13 in ESPN fantasy drafts, and I think that remains a fair spot to draft him.
How does the addition of Mitchell impact the other top players on the Cavs?
Snellings: Neither Jarrett Allen nor Evan Mobley should be too adversely affected by the move, on the fantasy front. Both are bigs, with a lot of their value tied into their defensive and rebounding contributions. Mobley is a developing scorer with shooting range, and with defenses focusing more on stopping the Cavs' talented backcourt, he could actually thrive in Year 2. Allen is a high-efficiency finisher, a garbage man and alley-oop target, and he should continue to get those looks.
Moody: I agree. To be candid, other Cavaliers such as Mobley and Allen are minimally affected from a fantasy perspective. The Cavaliers ranked 25th with 107.8 PPG last season and needed scoring, which Mitchell will provide. The majority of Mobley's and Allen's statistical contributions come from rebounds and blocks, and I don't expect their scoring to suffer.
Prior to the trade, the Cavaliers had one of the best frontcourts in the league. Now with the addition of Mitchell, they have one of the best backcourts as well.
Who becomes a bigger fantasy factor on the rebuilding Jazz in the post-Mitchell era?
Moody: With Sexton's new fully guaranteed contract, the Jazz should be able to count on him to be a key contributor this season. He played just 11 games last season because of a torn meniscus. During the 2020-2021 season, Sexton averaged over 24 PPG and 4.0 APG. Fantasy managers can expect him to perform well for a Jazz team that is rebuilding.
The move to Utah will also benefit Markkanen. With the Cavaliers last season, he averaged 14.8 PPG and 5.7 RPG. Markkanen should be able to replicate those numbers with his new team in Utah.
Now that he has a clearer path to minutes, Agbaji -- the No. 14 overall pick in 2022 out of Kansas -- is a great candidate to target in the later rounds of fantasy drafts. In July, the rookie swingman played four games for Cleveland's summer league team and led the squad in scoring with 15 PPG in 31 MPG.
Bojan Bogdanovic has the most fantasy value of the notable returning Jazz players, though it's conceivable he, too, could be on the trade block. Last year, the veteran scorer averaged 18.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.7 APG with Mitchell and Rudy Gobert on the roster.
While all four are solid options at their respective average draft positions, I wouldn't reach for any of them.
