Cleveland Cavaliers May Be Forced To Make A Brutal Decision

The Cleveland Cavaliers had one of the best seasons in franchise history during the 2023-24 NBA campaign. But, regular season success will only get the team so far. They will need a strong showing during the NBA Playoffs, otherwise, this offseason is going to be full of major changes.

The Cavaliers are a team that many people are going to be keeping an eye on because of Donovan Mitchell. Acquired from the Utah Jazz during the 2022 NBA offseason, Cleveland came out of nowhere to land the All-Star guard.

NBA Rumors swirled that Mitchell wanted to be traded to his hometown New York Knicks, but the Jazz played hardball with them. It resulted in him ending up in Cleveland, where his future with the franchise has been in doubt almost immediately.

Owner Dan Gilbert expressed his confidence earlier a few weeks ago that Mitchell would sign a long-term extension with the franchise. However, NBA insiders and analysts have not shown the same level of optimism about Mitchell remaining with the Cavaliers long-term.

In fact, it is the polar opposite. NBA insider Marc Stein believes the Cavaliers are going to have to trade Mitchell sooner rather than later so that they can get as much value in return for him as possible.

“Mitchell will be entering the final guaranteed year of his current contract next season if there’s no extension, leading to a growing belief among rival teams that the Cavaliers will be forced to trade Mitchell in coming months if they cannot come to terms with him an extension,” Stein wrote on his Substack.

It would be a huge risk for the Cavaliers to play out the string with Mitchell on the roster. He undoubtedly makes the team better, but if they keep him on the roster beyond the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline and he ends up departing in free agency that offseason, it would be crippling to the franchise.

They certainly don’t want to trade him, but Cleveland has to ensure they get some sort of value for Mitchell. They cannot under any circumstances allow him to leave in free agency without receiving anything in return, especially because of how much they paid to acquire him.

Rumor has it that the only way Mitchell would entertain signing an extension with the Cavaliers this offseason is if they make a run to the NBA Finals. Short of that, an extension isn’t expected to happen, which will start up the NBA rumors again this offseason.