3 reasons Raptors are still better than Cavs after Mitchell trade

2. Continuity

The Raptors were unusual in that they didn’t lose any of their big-name contributors during the offseason. Unlike the Cavs, who took a hacksaw to their bench to acquire Mitchell, Toronto decided that running it back with the same young core was the best move.

The Raptors have all of their starters back, and they brought back Thad Young and Chris Boucher in free agency. Outside of Otto Porter Jr. coming over from Golden State, most of the remainder of the bench will be young players earning internal promotions. The Cavs completely upended their bench.

Toronto Raptors: This Cavs rotation is full of question marks.

Will Darius Garland be willing to secede shots and control of the ball to Mitchell, especially after an All-Star season? Will Evan Mobley be fine with coming into games as the fourth offensive option on many occasions? With Sexton and Lauri Markkanen gone, is the lack of depth a fatal flaw?

While the Raptors will need to figure out how to get Scottie Barnes more touches without relegating one of their stars to a sideshow role, that won’t be as disruptive as trying to split touches between the old guard and Mitchell, who needs to get 20 shots a game to be effective.