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Cavaliers urged to explore Donovan Mitchell trade before his value peaks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' season came to an end on Monday at the hands of the New York Knicks. The Knicks swept the Cavaliers to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.
New York will face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs for the chance to become NBA champions. As for the Cavaliers, they now face some major question marks, including the future of their All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell's future with the Cavaliers organization remains a point of speculation due to his upcoming contract decision and postseason struggles.
With that being the case, NBA analyst Jason Timpf suggested that the Cavaliers should move on from Mitchell while they still can.
"I think that now is the best time to get off of Donovan Mitchell," Timpf said. "I think that would benefit Cleveland in two ways: one, you would have the ability to bring something back substantial in return, which would give you the flexibility to make your next move. The second piece of it is, Donovan is about to become very, very expensive, and at that point, I think the Cavs can make a critical mistake in handcuffing themselves by retaining Donovan who's a bad combination of not good enough and too expensive, and causes some serious issues with their ability to be flexible in the coming years."
Donovan Mitchell era reaches critical juncture in Cleveland
In the summer of 2024, the 29-year-old signed a three-year, $150 million max extension, which includes a player option for the 2027-28 season. This summer, Mitchell is eligible for a massive four-year, $277 million extension.
If the Cavaliers decide to indeed move on from him, this summer would be the best time to do so. Mitchell is about to enter his age-30 season, and while he's proven that he is a star in the league, questions still linger about whether he can be the best player on a true championship-caliber team.
There are legitimate concerns about his playoff ceiling and whether or not Mitchell's archetype is enough to lead a team to the promised land.
Mitchell made the conference finals for the first time in his nine-year career, and even so, he failed to collect a win. Nonetheless, his future with the team is not immediately in danger.
The former Louisville Cardinal is still the guy in Cleveland, and they did not come up short this season due to his play or lack thereof. One thing is certain: being swept in the conference finals put pressure on the Cavaliers as they now face tough questions regarding Mitchell and his future with the club.
After the sweep, Mitchell reiterated his love for the city of Cleveland.
"I'm sorry for the city of Cleveland," Mitchell said. "For it to be like this and the sweep. That's ass. But I told y'all last year, and I'll say again, we'll be back. We'll be ready. We'll be hungry. And we'll be locked in."
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