Donovan Mitchell signs three-year max extension with Cavaliers

Donovan Mitchell signs three-year max extension with Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell has officially signed a three-year, $150.2 million max extension to stay with the organization, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report Tuesday.

Mitchell caught wind of the announcement and made his own social media post regarding the extension:

Mitchell, 27, could have signed the extension as soon as July 18, the day after the NBA Finals when players were allowed to begin negotiating with their own team. There was a two-week wait, but Cleveland remained steadfast that he was going to sign the extension.

“We feel good about Donovan,” Koby Altman, Cavaliers general manager, said during Kenny Atkinson’s introductory press conference on Monday. “He’s in a great space mentally. He’s healthy. He was out there with those young high school players, hooping in a really good space. Really enjoyed the fact that him and Kenny could sit down and talk about the future, talk about the team.

“He is still under contract right now, so I think we can talk about him as a Cavalier. He’s invested. He’s really invested in what we’re doing, and hopefully soon we’ll have more of a decisive answer on [a contract extension] for you. But he’s been great. He’s been super involved and super collaborative and very, very much pro-Cleveland.”

He was going to enter 2024-25 with two more years left on his contract, including a player option attached to the final season. He will still be on the books for $35.4 million in 2024-25, though this three-year extension–beginning at $46.4 million–replaces his $37.1 million extension in 2025-26, according to Spotrac. Wojnarowski noted that Mitchell will have a player option attached to the final year of his deal, similar to his current contract.

You could make a case that Mitchell was a top-5 player during the regular season last year … when he was on the court. In 55 games, Mitchell averaged 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists on 46.2 percent shooting and 36.8 percent from 3-point range, helping Cleveland finish as a top-4 seed for the first time since LeBron James departed.

Now it will be interesting to see if Darius Garland’s trade market begins to heat up. The backcourt wasn’t as seamless of a fit as it was expected to be, though the potential suitors for Garland–specifically New Orleans and San Antonio–have plugged their point guard holes.

Does that mean a team won’t come from the clouds and nab Garland? No, but at what price? Cleveland has been open about not wanting to move their “core four,” but if a team knocks down the door with a reasonable offer, it may be more realistic that they arrange deck chairs than not.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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The post Donovan Mitchell signs three-year max extension with Cavaliers appeared first on Vendetta Sports Media .