Cavaliers guard becomes most recent star to lose awards eligibility

It will be Mitchell's 18th missed game of the season, guaranteeing he won't play 65 games. That's the new threshold in the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement for qualifying for awards. That includes MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and the All-NBA teams.

Mitchell likely would have made one of the All-NBA teams based on how well he's played in his 47 games. He's averaging 28 points, 6.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are a half-game out of second place in the Eastern Conference. 

But the NBA has declared that they're rewarding availability over ability this season.

The same is true for Joel Embiid, who was the front-runner to repeat as NBA MVP before he suffered an injury to his meniscus last month. The ineligible list includes former all-NBA players Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving and Draymond Green, though Green wouldn't have made it unless voters gave a lot of weight to podcasting. 

The list will likely include Kristaps Porzingis, who has missed 17 games and thus can't miss another.

For Mitchell and Embiid, the rule will cost them awards, but not money. That's not the case for NBA assists leader Tyrese Haliburton, who has tens of millions riding on making the All-NBA team. His upcoming five-year contract extension starts at 30% of the salary cap — as long he's All-NBA. If not, the deal starts at 25% of the cap.

That difference could end up being more than $50M, which is why Haliburton, who has missed 13 games this year, needs to be very cautious. 

Awards are one thing. Cold hard cash is another.