Take Donovan Mitchell At His Word: He's Likely Returning To Cleveland Cavaliers This Summer

Surely, the biggest catastrophizers among the Cleveland Cavaliers’ fan base have pondered a possible parallel between Donovan Mitchell and LeBron James.

Fourteen years ago, James played the final game of his first stint with Cleveland in Boston’s TD Garden. He took his talents to South Beach in free agency soon after.

The Cavs’ 2023-24 season ended in the same Boston arena last month. Mitchell looked on with a calf injury as the Celtics claimed an Eastern Conference second-round series in five games.

While Mitchell remains under contract with Cleveland next season, his aloof approach to signing an extension has muddled his future with the franchise. The front office prefers to have something secured this summer. Mitchell hasn’t addressed his intentions either way.

The latest logic seems to have Mitchell staying put. It’s more conjecture, of course, but Cavs fans don’t mind that, right?

Adding to the guesswork is another big question mark for Cleveland: Who will be its next coach?

The team fired J.B. Bickerstaff after four seasons not long after the Celtics series. Reports indicate Cleveland has received permission to interview multiple up-and-coming assistants, including New York Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant.

That’s the same Bryant who spent several seasons working with Mitchell while ascending the ranks with the Utah Jazz.

Mitchell’s contract status and short tenure with Cleveland -- plus that non- northeast Ohio birthplace thing -- hardly provide him the front-office pull James might have amid a coaching search.

Still, there’s no questioning the uncertainty surrounding Mitchell is influencing matters as the NBA Draft approaches June 26 and 27 and free agency opens soon after.

Mitchell can’t sign an extension until early July.

“I’ll say that my exit interview with him was really good. He was talking about the future and how excited he was about the team, the organization,” Cavs president Koby Altman said last month during a press conference about Bickerstaff’s firing.

The tenor of the conversation with Mitchell further boosted Altman’s optimism.

“When we’re talking to him about the future and getting his feedback, it’s all about how do we make this thing better?” Altman said. “How do we achieve this together? How do we win in the future? I take those as very positive things.”

Mitchell played 10 games this postseason, scoring at least 30 points five times while erupting for 50 during a loss to the Orlando Magic in Game 6 of the first round.

He followed with 39 points in a Game 7 victory two days later.

Mitchell is just 27, part of a young core that includes Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley. While the Cavs haven’t made the kind of postseason run they’d hoped for in Mitchell’s first two seasons, they’re positioned for a breakthrough given their talent and owner Dan Gilbert’s spending history.

A return to the Cavaliers makes financial sense for Mitchell, as well. It would allow him to sign a maximum contract that extends his time in Cleveland to at least the next five seasons while stuffing his coffers with substantially more money than any other team could.

Cleveland traded three players and three unprotected first round picks when it acquired Mitchell from Utah in 2022. That’s a grand investment, to be sure, but there’s reason for Cavs fans to believe the franchise -- and Mitchell -- still can cash in.

It merely requires taking him at his word -- as shared by a team executive.