That is because the team can count on Mitchell staying in town as Mitchell signed a three-year maximum contract extension valued at 150.3 million dollars.
The contract includes a player option for a fourth year for the 2027-28 season and takes the Cavaliers off the hook as the team begins to make its first-round payments on Mitchell over the coming years.
Mitchell averaged twenty-six, six assists, and five rebounds last season in fifty-five games for Cleveland, shooting forty-six percent from the field.
Mitchell played most of the season through a deep bone bruise in his left knee that caused him to miss several games on multiple occasions, and slowed him noticeably in the postseason before a strained calf benched him for the final two losses of the playoffs against Boston.
Cleveland doesn't think the knee is a long-term concern but it's fair to be concerned even a little about the long-term status of Mitchell's knees.
This contract helps both the team and the player.
The Cavaliers retain their franchise star and avoid a season filled with conjecture about Mitchell's trade value and his looming free agency. At the same time, Mitchell, adds money to his bank account, protects himself from injury with a player option for a fourth year, and is in a perfect position for the "Super Max" extension in a few years.
The questions for the Cavaliers are these- Is the roster currently constructed around Mitchell capable of developing into a title contender?
Can new head coach Kenny Atkinson develop Evan Mobley into a star and take him to the next level?
Is the rumored threat from Rich Paul, the agent for Darius Garland, true where Paul supposedly stated that if Mitchell was re-signed, Garland would demand a trade?
If Garland is traded, could the Cavaliers receive a major piece to fit around Mitchell? Or could it be a high draft choice to aid the team in 2025-26?
If Garland would stay in Cleveland, how can his game be changed to work more smoothly with Mitchell and Mobley?
If Cleveland does trade Garland, what position would they try to fill in return?
A pure point guard? The badly needed small forward/wing? An outside shooter, who could allow the ball to be brought up by and then flow through Mitchell?
The Cleveland Cavaliers have accomplished their top goal in the off-season in securing Donovan Mitchell's next few years.
Now can they make the next moves to improve the team around Mitchell to be a serious title challenger?
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