By Joe Vardon, John Hollinger and Tess DeMeyer
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell isn’t going anywhere.
Mitchell agreed to a three-year, $150.3 million maximum contract extension that includes a player option for the 2027-28 season, league sources confirmed Tuesday.
The five-time All-Star confirmed he’s staying via a post on X that includes a photo of him on the court and a clip from “The Wolf of Wall Street” in which Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, tells his stockbrokers, “I’m not leaving!”
#LetEmKnow @cavs pic.twitter.com/QU1re4zn0G
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) July 2, 2024
Mitchell’s two best seasons as a pro, at least statistically, have occurred in Cleveland. The 27-year-old made his fifth consecutive All-Star team last season, averaging 26.6 points and career highs of 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game. He played for most of the second half of the campaign with a bone bruise in his left knee. The injury led to multiple absences and a platelet-rich plasma injection in early March. At times, Mitchell seemed hobbled on the court. He ended the playoffs in street clothes due to a left calf strain, missing the final two games against the Celtics.
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A first-round draft pick out of Louisville, Mitchell played the first five seasons of his career with the Utah Jazz. The Cavaliers acquired him via a 2022 trade that saw Cleveland send Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three first-round draft picks and two pick swaps to Utah.
Details of the deal
It’s no accident that Mitchell is signing his extension now and that it has a player option for 2027-28, following his 10th year of service. Unlike many veteran stars, Mitchell isn’t supermax eligible because of the trade that sent him from Utah to Cleveland. However, he can get the same supermax contract, for 35 percent of the cap, once he’s a 10-year vet. — John Hollinger, NBA senior writer
Required reading
- LeBron James, Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers’ past, present and future
- What’s next for Donovan Mitchell, J.B. Bickerstaff, Darius Garland and the Cavs?
- Can the Cleveland Cavaliers convince Donovan Mitchell to stay?
(Photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)