“The NBA’S Very Own Cold War”: The Jazz Establishing Themselves as New Rivals to the Thunder After Trading Donovan Mitchell Leaves Fans in a Frenzy

Danny Ainge has done it again with the Donovan Mitchell trade. He has made sure that he has enough draft picks to rival Sam Presti’s Oklahoma City Thunder. Both managers are notorious for their obsession with rebuilding their teams. Ainge has rebuilt the Boston Celtics and Presti is trying it with the Thunder for the 2nd time.

In the context of this trade, Mitchell seemed all set to go to New York before Cleveland swooped in with a better package. Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Jazz acquired three unprotected first-round draft picks and two pick swaps in exchange for Mitchell. They also received rights for Ochai Agbaji, who was the 14th pick in this year’s draft, Collin Sexton, and Lauri Markannen.

Utah has fifteen first-round picks for the next seven drafts. They had acquired four first-round picks for Rudy Gobert, with one of them being lightly protected and one of them being a pick swap.

Meanwhile, Cleveland has assembled a very promising team. The likes of Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland will be well served by the experienced Mitchell. They have been dedicated to organically building a great team since the departure of star player LeBron James in 2018.

Read More: ?Went Screaming Around Golf Course?: Donovan Mitchell?s Bizarre Reaction to Blockbuster Cavaliers Trade Revealed

Fans on social media have been amazed by how many picks the Jazz have collected this off-season. It has been often compared to Thunder’s potential draft picks. The latter has 19 first-round draft picks and 19 second-round draft picks. These are some of the fan reactions to this trade and Ainge getting more future picks:

https://twitter.com/SoulFu999/status/1565468512923041792?s=20&t=1v8Ik6N2CSy04M-6pj0TsQ

The Donovan Mitchell trade proves Ainge’s prowess as a GM

Danny Ainge’s reputation as a GM has become more notorious than ever. He earned the name ‘Treader Danny’ during his time as the head of operations at the Boston Celtics. In 2013, he traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce for future draft picks in 2014, 2016, and 2018.

The Celtics got Marcus Smart in 2014 and Jaylen Brown in 2016. They traded their 2018 draft pick to acquire Kyrie Irving. In 2017, they swapped their first pick for the third pick, which allowed them to get their superstar player Jayson Tatum.

Watch this Story: Who Was Drafted Before Michael Jordan? Where Are They Now and How Was Their Career?

This team went on several deep playoff runs and were runner-ups this year. Danny Ainge’s ability as a canny GM can never be counted and this Donovan Mitchell trade proves that he will indeed do this again and again.

Who will win this war? The Utah Jazz or the Oklahoma City Thunder? You decide in the comments section.