CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell played for the Cavaliers on Friday night, in an important game they won against the Philadelphia 76ers, for the first time since March 16 due to nose and knee injuries.
While he was out, one of Mitchell’s closest teammates, Georges Niang, and Cavaliers chairman Dan Gilbert both expressed a great deal of confidence that the All-Star would sign a lucrative contract extension that keeps him in Cleveland.
The 12 points and eight assists Mitchell tallied in 32 minutes in the Cavs’ 117-114 win over Philadelphia preceded his first media ability since he went out and, also, since Niang and Gilbert each put it out there that they thought Mitchell would remain a Cav.
“I thought Georges said I was going to the Mets,” Mitchell said, coyly. “I think the biggest thing for me, as I said before to you earlier, I mean obviously you have to ask the question, but my focus is I got a lot of things to focus on outside of that right now. I’ve got to focus on myself, getting back for this group, focus on us getting over this stretch, continuing to be ready when it comes time.
“So, I’ll handle that when it comes, and I understand you gotta ask that question and I’ll give you the same answer.”
Yes, on Dec. 16, Mitchell respectfully cut off a line of questioning from The Athletic about his looming contract extension, saying, “My job is to focus on this,” and, “I’m not going there with any of those questions.”
Mitchell can sign an extension for up to four years and about $200 million this summer. If he does, the Cavs know they can continue building a respectable franchise into a championship contender around him. If he declines, they must consider trading him or risk losing him for nothing the following summer in free agency.
Thanks, SPIDA. ✨@spidadmitchell | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/vJzl4YZhe0
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 29, 2024
Nationally, Mitchell’s contract situation is of great interest, in part because the NBA thrives on trade rumors and free-agency shockers, and also because he’s been linked to the big markets of New York, L.A. and elsewhere in potential trades.
In Cleveland, fans hate this storyline because A) they know Mitchell’s contract is a thing, and B) they’re worn out from having to go through this multiple times with LeBron James.
But while Mitchell was recovering from a broken nose and a lingering knee injury, Niang and Gilbert not only spoke the issue back into the foreground, they added a twist by speaking with such confidence that Mitchell will sign.
To be clear, both men were responding to questions from various media outlets. First, Niang said on Ryen Russillo’s podcast: “From the vibes I get around here and from when I was with (Mitchell in Utah) and the experiences over there, I would lean towards (Mitchell) being a Cavalier for a long time. That’s just my personal thought. That has nothing to do with what he’s going to do because he’s his own person, but I think he genuinely enjoys this organization, the situation that he’s in, how it can continue to help grow his career and how it can affect his ability to win.”
Then on Thursday, Gilbert told The Associated Press in an interview: “We’ve been talking to him, sure, for the last couple of years about extending this contract. We think he will extend. I think if you listen to him talk, he loves the city. He loves the situation in Cleveland because our players are very young and we’re just kind of putting the core together that he’s clearly the biggest part of.”
Niang was Mitchell’s teammate in Utah, where Mitchell signed a five-year, $163 million deal with the Jazz in 2020. And Gilbert owns the team that traded three first-round picks and multiple players to acquire Mitchell prior to the 2022-23 season. Mitchell has been extension-eligible for months, with a three-year, roughly $150 million extension available to him, but he had said he wasn’t interested in signing so…
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