Donovan Mitchell has been an All-Star in each of his 2 seasons with the Cavs.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers and star guard Donovan Mitchell are sticking together as the two sides agreed to an extension on Tuesday.
The Cavs and Mitchell, per reports, agreed to a three-year, $150.3 million deal that keeps the five-time All-Star guard with the Cavs and out of free agency. Mitchell had a player option on his current deal after next season, which won’t be totally removed in the new deal.
The extension includes a $54 million player option for the 2027-28 season, per reports. Mitchell was under contract for one more season. Technically, Mitchell’s new deal means he can become a free agent in three years, raising the Cavs’ urgency to compete for a title.
The new deal also allows Mitchell to reach 10-year criteria, making him eligible for a next extension worth $380 million.
#Cavs Donovan Mitchell isn't going anywhere — and he announced it in the most fitting way possiblehttps://t.co/eMwOwXTiLR
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) July 2, 2024
Full ESPN story on Cleveland All-Star G Donovan Mitchell agreeing on three-year, $150.3M extension https://t.co/tyDfy7GKRm
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2024
Mitchell is one of the NBA’s most dynamic scorers and has played a pivotal role in lifting Cleveland from a Play-In Tournament team to a playoff team in his two seasons with the Cavs. Acquired by Cleveland via a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz in 2022, Mitchell has led the Cavs to the playoffs twice.
Last season, he posted 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 46.2% overall and 36.8% on 3-pointers. He has made the All-Star team in both seasons with the Cavs and scored a Cavs franchise-record 71 points in the 2022-23 season when he lit up the Chicago Bulls.
In two seasons with Cleveland, Mitchell has averaged 27.5 ppg, 5.2 apg and 4.6 rpg.
Impact on Cavs: Cleveland went 48-34 last season in an injury-marred campaign for the roster as standout players Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland both missed time. The season prior, the Cavs were 51-31, marking the team’s first 50-win season since LeBron James was a part of the team in 2017-18.
That success came under coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who was hired in 2019 and went 170-159 in the regular season, but was 6-11 in the playoffs with Cleveland. The Cavs reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, but lost 4-1 in that round to the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
The Cavs opted to fire Bickerstaff and eventually hired former Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson. Atkinson was an assistant with the Warriors for the past three seasons after he spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach with the LA Clippers. Before that, he was coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-20, when he and the team parted ways on March 7, 2020 after a 28-34 campaign with the Nets.
Atkinson said in his introductory news conference on Monday that he, president of basketball of operations Koby Altman and others from the Cavs visited Mitchell’s “Spida Elite Camp” in Los Angeles for the nation’s best young guards.
While it was mostly a get-to-know-you-better meeting for Atkinson, it was another chance for the Cavs to sell their vision to Mitchell.
“We feel good about Donovan,” Altman said Monday. “He’s in a great space mentally. He’s healthy. … He’s really invested in what we’re doing, and hopefully soon we’ll have more of a decisive answer on (a contract extension). But he’s been great. He’s been super involved and super collaborative and very, very much pro-Cleveland.”
The Cavs have not reached the Eastern Conference Finals since the days of James in 2018. After acquiring Mitchell via trade in 2022, the Cavs went 51-31 last season and had home-court advantage in the first round before getting knocked out in five games by the New York Knicks.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
