Donovan Mitchell has made his commitment to the Cavaliers.
Now, it appears he’d welcome another familiar face doing the same.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Mitchell “would embrace” the possibility of LeBron James signing with Cleveland if the NBA’s all-time leading scorer decides to return for a third stint with the franchise.
The report isn’t exactly surprising.
Mitchell has spoken in the past about growing up watching James, and the two have developed a strong relationship since Mitchell arrived in Cleveland. Charania also reported that Mitchell has played a significant role in the Cavs’ offseason conversations as the front office explores ways to improve a team that reached the Eastern Conference finals last season.
James remains a free agent after parting ways with the Lakers and has been linked to several contenders, including the Cavaliers, Warriors, 76ers, Heat, Timberwolves and Nuggets.
The Cavaliers have already taken care of one major piece of business this summer by signing Mitchell to a new four-year maximum extension, a move that keeps the All-NBA guard at the center of the franchise’s championship plans.
Whether James ultimately joins him remains one of the biggest unanswered questions of the offseason.
What seems increasingly clear, however, is that Mitchell wouldn’t object if the Cavs found a way to bring the franchise icon home one more time.
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Does anyone but Shams in the sports journalism world actually do any work? Aren’t there any local sports reporters with balls big enough to reach out to Mitchell and ask for comments? Or even reach out to Lebron and ask for a commitment date so we can quit screwing around on the topic and get on with our lives? I would have more respect for a reporter who tried and was shot down rather than one who uses another reporter as their source. 🏀😎
Who feels like we need to ask him if he’s okay with anything. The contract he signed was the only question he needed to be asked about The rest is now his job to deal with, whatever happens. What would a reporter who asks him that expect him to say? “Not really”.
The debilitatingly low self esteem of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise. The contract and approach to D Mitchell is embarrassing.
Where was he going to go? And when? Will he be healthy in a year?
If teams are interested, what about listening first to offers for a while? If teams aren’t interested, who are we racing against to lock him in 4 years from now? How much changes in 4 years? Has Mitchell played 4 straight healthy seasons? Do his knees look built for the long hall to you? When he looks in pain just walking out there sometimes? Coasting on defense?
We dont have time to first watch him accomplish the “one step away” goals before doing something for 4 years from now? Aren’t we just one step away? That’s what I’m hearing.
I guess we believe he’ll be healthy while earning 70M per season for the next 4 seasons?
Just questions. No alarm here… Maybe the narratives will be right. And maybe LeBron will come back, it will all be great. Maybe not. Just questions.