Reports: Donovan Mitchell, Cavs Agree to 3-Year Extension
Cleveland’s star agrees to a deal worth a reported $150.3 million that will keep him with the team through the 2028-29 season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and star guard Donovan Mitchell have agreed to an extension as of Tuesday.
The Cavs and Mitchell, according to reports, have agreed to a three-year, $150.3 million deal that will keep 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 entirely removed in the new agreement.
The extension includes a $54 million player option for the 2027-28 season, as 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, increasing the Cavs’ urgency to compete for a title.
The new agreement also allows Mitchell to reach the 10-year criteria, making him eligible for another extension worth $380 million.
Mitchell is one of the NBA’s most dynamic scorers and has played a crucial role in raising Cleveland from a Play-In Tournament team to a playoff team in his two seasons with the Cavs.
Acquired by Cleveland through a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz in 2022, Mitchell has led the Cavs to the playoffs twice.
Last season, he averaged 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 against the Chicago Bulls.
In two seasons with Cleveland, Mitchell has averaged 27.5 points, 5.2 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Impact on Cavs: Cleveland went 48-34 last season in a campaign marred by injuries, with key players Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland both missing time.
The season before, the Cavs were 51-31, marking the team’s first 50-win season since LeBron James was 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 chose to fire Bickerstaff and subsequently hired former Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson. Atkinson was an assistant with the Warriors for the past three seasons after spending the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach with the LA Clippers.
Before that, he was the coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-20 until he and the team parted ways on March 7, 2020, after a 28-34 campaign.
Atkinson mentioned in his introductory news conference on Monday that he, president of basketball 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 opportunity for the Cavs to present 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 a more 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.