Donovan Mitchell Extension Remains Top Off-Season Focus for Cavaliers
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CLEVELAND — Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said Wednesday that locking up All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell is the franchise’s primary objective as the off-season begins.
Mitchell becomes eligible on July 7 for a four-year contract extension worth up to $272 million. If he waits until the summer of 2025, the 27-year-old could pursue a five-year deal projected at roughly $350 million.
“Donovan is our guy,” Altman told reporters at his end-of-season news conference. “He’s elevated everything about this franchise and this organization.”
Altman declined to say whether Cleveland will present an offer the first day Mitchell is eligible, but stressed the guard’s importance to the team’s long-term plans. “All I can tell you is Donovan has been steadfast in how much he loves it here,” Altman said. “There hasn’t been any question of will he be here and does he want to be here.”
Since acquiring Mitchell from Utah in September 2022, the Cavaliers have reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after missing the postseason the previous four years. This season’s run ended in the Eastern Conference finals.
Mitchell has publicly expressed appreciation for the organization and confidence in its championship potential, sentiments he repeated after the Cavaliers were eliminated.
Altman summed up the relationship’s impact: “Four years without him, no playoffs. Four years with him, playoffs.” The club intends to keep that trend moving forward.
Source: Hoops Wire
