A 4-Team Trade to Convince Pat Riley to Trade Jimmy Butler | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

It's just a hunch, but Cavaliers fans aren't thrilled with the entire scenario. The franchise gave up three future firsts, two swaps and a recently drafted player (Ochai Agbaji), plus a future All-Star in Lauri Markkanen and a solid player in Collin Sexton. That's a sunken cost that shouldn't dictate future decisions.

Perhaps the 48-win Cavs upset the 64-win Boston Celtics over the next two weeks. But assuming that doesn't come to pass, and Mitchell does push his way out with a short list of teams he's willing to negotiate a new deal with, Cleveland won't have a luxurious list of choices.

In a similar situation, the Toronto Raptors were willing to trade for Kawhi Leonard, heading into the last year of his deal, but after winning a title, he left for the Clippers in free agency. Few NBA franchises will give up true value for a short-term star without a long-term commitment.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, leverage is not on the team's side. The choice may be helping LeBron James win a title with the Lakers (for players like D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura), Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanović from the New York Knicks, or Cam Thomas and Cam Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets.

Randle is coming off a shoulder injury and plays the same position as Evan Mobley. Randle recently rejoined CAA Sports, an agency with strong ties to New York, and he may not be available this summer (New York may not chase Mitchell at all, given the team's current playoff run).

After polling several NBA scouts, all prefer Herro to Thomas. None were incredibly high on Johnson, based on age (28) and injury history—averaging roughly 47 games a season.

Herro would slot into Mitchell's position on the Cavaliers' rotation on a cost-controlled contract. He's not cheap, but Cleveland can field a competitive roster without entering the luxury tax. That includes keeping restricted free agent Isaac Okoro if both sides can agree to terms at a salary starting near $10-13 million.

Is Herro as good as Mitchell? No, but he's better than letting Mitchell walk after a year with nothing in return. And the Cavaliers add the No. 15 pick in June, along with compensation to make up for some of what was sent to Utah (two additional firsts and a second).