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Rumors of a possible Donovan Mitchell trade away from the Cavaliers are heating up after the team's second-round exit from the 2024 Playoffs. These rumors have led to the resurfacing of a letter sent to David Stern by Cavs' owner Dan Gilbert in 2011 when he wanted the league to stop Chris Paul from joining the Lakers.
"It would be a travesty to allow the Lakers to acquire Chris Paul in the apparent trade being discussed. This trade should go to a vote of the 29 owners of the Hornets.
"Over the next three seasons, this deal would save the Lakers approximately $20 million in salaries and approximately $21 million in luxury taxes. That $21 million goes to non-taxpaying teams and to fund revenue sharing.
"I cannot remember ever seeing a trade where a team got by far the best player in the trade and saved over $40 million in the process. And it doesn't appear that they would give up any draft picks, which might allow to later make a trade for Dwight Howard. (they would also get a large trade exception that would help them improve their team and/or eventually trade for Howard.)
"When the Lakers got Pau Gasol (at the time considered an extremely lopsided trade), they took on tens of millions in additional salary and luxury tax, and they gave up a number of prospects (one in Marc Gasol who may become a max-salary player).
"I just don't see how we can allow this trade to happen. I know the vast majority of owners feel the same way that I do. When will we just change the name of 25 of the 30 teams to the Washington Generals?"
Gilbert is infamous for his comic sans letters, even issuing one to the people of Cleveland when LeBron James walked away from the franchise in 2010. This letter managed to have a huge impact, as the league ended up stopping the Lakers from completing the Paul trade. Gilbert wasn't alone in his pursuit of stopping this deal, with the likes of Mark Cuban and Danny Ainge also adamantly against the move.
The Lakers did use all this flexibility to acquire Steve Nash and Dwight Howard one season later, but the team's championship window had slammed shut. Many people wonder what the franchise would have achieved if they put together a big three of Gasol, Kobe Bryant, and Paul.
Due to owners like Gilbert, we'll never know.
Will Dan Gilbert Stop Donovan Mitchell From Being Traded To The Lakers?
Everyone talks about a big market bias that helps teams like the Lakers land free agents over other teams in the NBA. But there is a front-office bias that penalizes teams like the Lakers whenever they want to get a win-now deal done.
The New Orleans Pelicans did that with Anthony Davis and forced the Lakers to pay a massive premium to acquire him via trade in 2019, despite failed attempts to send him to the Celtics for an inferior package just to keep him away from the Lakers.
The Brooklyn Nets' owner Joe Tsai intentionally traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks instead of the Lakers last season because it was apparent that the Lakers wanted Irving and that Kyrie wanted to join the franchise too.
Keeping that in mind, there's a very high chance that Gilbert harbors a similar sentiment against sending Mitchell to the Lakers. Not only is it the Lakers, but he'll actively be helping his former franchise superstar LeBron James win more games. Given the swirling rumors of LeBron possibly returning to Cleveland before he retires, Gilbert won't want to send his team's prized asset to James' Lakers right now.
The Lakers can't produce a massive overpay package for Mitchell the same way they did for Davis, so it seems like the Lakers will be chasing teams like the Nets and Hawks in a possible trade deal. Even if the Lakers can agree on a price, the Cavaliers will likely find someone to beat it given the dearth of assets other contenders like the Pelicans could possibly offer.
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