Report: Donovan Mitchell Likely To Remain With Cavaliers

According to Grant Afseth of NBA Analysis Network, Donovan Mitchell will likely remain with the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Mitchell is under contract for next season and has a $37 million player option for 2025-26, but he is eligible to sign a four-year extension this summer.

“Multiple sources have told the NBA Analysis Network both before and after their postseason appearance that Mitchell is likelier to remain in Cleveland than not,” Asfeth wrote. 

If Mitchell becomes a free agent in 2025, he is eligible to sign for a max of five years and $269.9 million with the team that holds his Bird rights (the Cavaliers now) or four years, $200.1 million with a new team.

In his second season with the Cavaliers, Mitchell averaged 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists while shooting 46.2% from the field, 36.8% from 3 and 86.5% from the free-throw line. 

The Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs in seven games but lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round in five games. Mitchell missed Games 4 and 5 of the Celtics series because of a left calf injury. 

One of the best players in the NBA, Mitchell has career averages of 24.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists with the Utah Jazz and Cavaliers. He scored a career-high 71 points last season against the Chicago Bulls.

According to NBA insiders Shams Charania, Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, there is a growing sentiment around the league that the Cavaliers will be able to position themselves to receive Mitchell’s commitment for a lucrative contract extension that would keep him in Cleveland past his 30th birthday. 

If Mitchell remains with the Cavaliers, Darius Garland could get traded. Cleveland could also trade Jarrett Allen. 

JB Bickerstaff’s future with the Cavaliers is also up in the air. 

“League sources briefed on the Cavaliers’ mindset told The Athletic that Bickerstaff’s job is in serious jeopardy after five and a half years as head coach, following the team’s season-ending loss in Game 5 of the second round to the Celtics,” Charania, Vardon and Lloyd wrote. “Two league sources said the team is likely to take some time — multiple days — to make a decision. … Multiple league sources have said, for months, that Mitchell did not have great confidence in Bickerstaff, and he was not alone.”