Report: Cavaliers Will Trade Donovan Mitchell This Offseason If He Doesn’t Sign Extension

Mitchell is under contract for next season and has a $37 million player option for 2025-26. He can sign a four-year, $208 million extension this summer.

“I’ve been told the Cavs either would sign him to an extension this summer, or trade him,” Pluto wrote. “They have zero intention of opening the 2024-25 season with Mitchell heading into his free agent year.”

Mitchell averaged 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists this season while shooting 46.2% from the field, 36.8% from beyond the arc and 86.5% from the free-throw line. The Cavaliers went 48-34. 

Cleveland 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, one of the top scorers in the NBA, missed Games 4 and 5 of the Celtics series because of a left hamstring injury. 

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.

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.

If Mitchell doesn’t sign an extension with the Cavaliers, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers are expected to pursue a Mitchell trade with Cleveland, sources told Hoops Wire. 

Mitchell doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract. A source told Hoops Wire that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert “would never” trade Mitchell to the Lakers.

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.