Report: Agents, Execs, Players Didn’t Think Donovan Mitchell Would Stay With Cavaliers

According to NBA reporter Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, players, execs and agents didn’t think Donovan Mitchell would stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Boy, were they wrong. 

Mitchell agreed to a three-year, $150.3 million maximum contract extension with the Cavaliers on Tuesday, putting an end to all the rumors that he wasn’t happy in The Land.

“Less than three months after the Cavaliers traded for Donovan Mitchell, I began hearing rumors swirling around his future,” Lloyd wrote. “He doesn’t want to be in Cleveland. He wants to be in New York. This isn’t going to last. The Cavs will eventually have to trade him. Powerful agents, executives from other teams, and even players around the league whom I spoke to all agreed. The idea of Mitchell remaining in Cleveland long term just didn’t seem feasible to anyone who actually worked in the league.”

A source told Hoops Wire that Mitchell privately grew tired of everyone saying he would leave the Cavaliers, who acquired the All-Star guard from the Utah Jazz in 2022. 

Cleveland lost to the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2023 playoffs in five games. Multiple NBA execs thought Mitchell would request a trade in the offseason of 2023, but that didn’t happen. 

The Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2024 playoffs in seven games but lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round in five games. As was the case in the offseason of 2023, multiple NBA figures were prepared for Mitchell to ask out of Cleveland this offseason. 

However, Mitchell has never once thought about requesting a trade from the Cavaliers, sources said. He has a positive relationship with president of basketball operations Koby Altman, who made sure Mitchell was on board with the Kenny Atkinson hire, sources said. 

Mitchell is averaging 27.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks with the Cavaliers. 

Cleveland has no interest in trading Darius Garland or Jarrett Allen and all signs point toward Evan Mobley getting a rookie-scale extension this offseason, sources said. 

A New York native, Mitchell has career averages of 24.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.3 blocks with the Jazz and Cavaliers. He scored a career-high 71 points in 2022-23 against the Chicago Bulls.