Donovan Mitchell’s first season with the Cavaliers was a good one, with the All-Star guard leading Cleveland to 51 wins and the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite their success, Mitchell decided not to sign an extension with the club ahead of the 2023-24 season, sparking interest in his future.
During the Cavaliers’ media day on Monday, Mitchell explained that his decision to wait on an extension was not a sign that he doesn’t want to be in Cleveland. Instead, he just wants to put all his attention on this season.
“I still have the opportunity to sign an extension next summer,” Mitchell said, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “My primary focus is this. Just trying to go out there and trying to be the best team we can be and bring a championship to the city and go from there. We added new additions. We obviously had a season that you could kind of rate went really well until it went really poorly. So, for us, that’s where all of our heads are at. That’s where my head is at.”
While he was with the Jazz, Mitchell signed a five-year, $163 million extension that runs through 2026, although his contract includes a player option for the final season. Mitchell is tied to Cleveland for this year and next before he must make a decision on the option year.
Mitchell is currently set to make $32.6 and $34.8 million, respectively, over the next two seasons, and his player option is worth $37.1 million in 2025-26. If he wanted to sign this year, he could sign an extension for three years and around $150 million, but by waiting a year, he could get an extra year and more money on the deal.
Given that Mitchell has time to wait, he doesn’t seem to be in a rush to sign a new deal. He isn’t scheduled to hit free agency for a few years, and he could make more money by delaying his extension until next offseason. However, some insiders believe Mitchell will eventually leave Cleveland instead of signing a deal to stay with the organization.
