Donovan Mitchell Contract Must Be Cavs' Priority Amid Garland, NBA Trade Rumors

The Cleveland Cavaliers saw their season come to a disappointing end Wednesday in the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the hands of the buzzsaw-like Boston Celtics, losing the series 3-1.

Despite questions about star guard Donovan Mitchell’s future with the organization in the wake of the loss, The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, and Jason Lloyd reported, “there is a growing sentiment around the league that the Cavaliers will be able to position themselves to receive his commitment for a lucrative contract extension that would keep him in Cleveland past his 30th birthday.”

They continued, “Teammates have described Mitchell this season as singularly focused on winning and wanting Cleveland to aim much higher than a first-round series victory for its measure of success.”

Therein lies where the Cavaliers must focus their attention if they want to keep Mitchell long-term and happy.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported that Donovan “grew frustrated with some teammates’ lack of maturity, focus, playoff-level readiness and a willingness to listen.”

Any player hyper-focused on winning a championship will naturally become frustrated with those around them that they do not believe to be as equally committed to greatness.

Add to that the Athletic report, which details mounting frustration with. and second-guessing of, head coach B.J. Bickerstaff, and there is plenty for Cleveland to address before they get Mitchell to put pen to paper.

Another potential issue is the roster, which may very well not look like it did this past season.

The same report from Charania, Vardon, and Lloyd stated that Darius Garland and his representation may request a trade with the Cavs front office amid diminishing stats due to Mitchell’s role as facilitator of the offense, as well as the idea that “rival executives believe the Cavs will have to seriously evaluate the fit of Mitchell and Garland and ultimately may have to choose one or the other.”

If the growing sentiment is that the team believes it can retain Mitchell on a long-term deal, it sounds as though the Cavs have already made their choice.

Mitchell averaged 26.6 points per game, shot 46.2 from the paint, and 36.8 from beyond the arc this season. He added 5.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.8 seals in 35.3 minutes.

He added 29.6 points in the postseason and was hardly the reason Cleveland experienced the disappointing conclusion to its season.

He is a star in a league full of them and easily the team’s best player. It would be inherently worse without him. Inking him to a deal is a must, as is getting rid of anyone who does not share his vision.

A long-term, max deal suggests that the organization views him as one of the league’s franchise players. Surrounding him with like-minded players, all determined to win the championship that has eluded them, is the right move.

Even if it means replacing the head coach and trading a player like Garland who may not mesh as well with Mitchell as team officials may have originally hoped.