Donovan Mitchell loved the trade. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a big trade in the offseason, acquiring Lonzo Ball from the Chicago Bulls. 

Ball will start at point guard for the Cavaliers while Darius Garland recovers from offseason foot surgery. 

At Cavaliers media day on Monday, Donovan Mitchell spoke about the "big time" Ball trade. 

"Big time. I think he's a guy that sees the floor naturally," Mitchell said about Ball. "He's a defender. He's a guy that we came into the league together, same draft class, and he's always been a pest defensively, but his knowledge, his IQ, his cerebral part of the game I think will help us a lot."

Ball, who will make $10 million this season, appeared in 35 games last season for the Bulls after missing two years in a row with a serious knee injury. The UCLA product averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 36.6% overall, 34.4% from beyond the arc and 81.5% from the foul line.   

A talented passer and defender, Ball turns 28 in October. He has career NBA averages of 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists with the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans and Bulls. 

The Cavaliers were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last season. However, they lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs in five games. 

Mitchell is one of the best players in the NBA, but he's never reached the conference finals with the Utah Jazz or Cavaliers. 

In 71 games for the Cavaliers last season, Mitchell averaged 24.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.2 blocks while shooting 44.3% from the field, 36.8% from beyond the arc and 82.3% from the free-throw line.

A Louisville product, Mitchell has been with the Cavaliers since 2022. He's averaging 26.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.4 blocks in a Cleveland uniform.