The Cleveland Cavaliers put the NBA on notice when they traded for Donovan Mitchell. They sent away multiple assets to the Utah Jazz in return for the Louisville product, and it paid off right away.
Mitchell’s on-court rapport with Darius Garland was evident right out of the gate. But the team was flawed and they couldn’t get the job done when it mattered the most.
So, now that there are multiple rumors of Mitchell not wanting to extend his contract in The Land, an unnamed executive told Heavy Sports that the Cavs are going all-in to try and keep him for the long run.
NBA Rumors: Cavs Are Still Committed To Donovan Mitchell
“They’re doing their best to reconfigure things around him and just keep rolling out the red carpet, making sure he knows he is taking care of, all of that,” one source told Heavy Sports. “No one is hitting the eject button on this. There is a lot of cost that’s been sunk into him and they’re going to push forward.”
“It’s Donovan Mitchell or bust,” the source said. “Make him happy, make him comfortable, that is the job.”
“They did not go to him and say, ‘Hey, what do you want us to do, who should we get?’” one Eastern Conference executive said. “It’s not that kind of situation. But what they did was go and get players who can shoot and by doing that they sort of said to him, ‘The playoffs, that was our fault, not yours.’ That’s an attempt to keep him happy right there.”
Mitchell is one of the league’s rising stars and the Cavs need to deal with him as such. But if there’s no indication that he’ll extend, then they should reconsider their stance and look to trade him.