Why a Rockets trade for Donovan Mitchell with Cavs would be almost impossible

The Houston Rockets apparently want to trade for Donovan Mitchell.

That would be really, really hard to pull off with the Cleveland Cavaliers, though, for salary reasons.

NBA trades need salaries that nearly match, and Mitchell has a $46.3 million salary in play.

The Rockets don't have anyone equivalent to that.

They could throw in Fred VanVleet, who wouldn't be the key piece in the deal but would help add up salaries.

At that point, they'd have to try and add the likes of Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard to the trade.

Would that be enough? It's hard to say.

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And VanVleet, coming off an injury, has a player option for the 2026-27 season. If he doesn't opt-in to his option, it would be a moot point.

Without FVV, this deal would be basically impossible. The only other contracts that would make it possible are Kevin Durant (who is more expensive than Mitchell) or Alperen Sengun. 

The Cavs wouldn't another center in Sengun in a deal for a guard. And KD makes them older, probably not the direction they'd want to move.

In the end, it's hard to see these teams quite lining up on a Mitchell deal. Maybe they could get another team involved to help out.

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