After a whole year of back-and-forth paper talks, Donovan Mitchell finally put all speculations beyond doubt. The Cleveland natives can now breathe a sigh of relief as The Spida will weave more magic next season in the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. His signature on the dotted lines of a 3-year $150.3 million contract confirmed that in the early hours of Tuesday.
Since LeBron James left Ohio for the lights of LA, the Cavs waited till 2022 to get their next star man. With Mitchell, the franchise ended its four-year drought to reach the playoffs. On top of that, in both the seasons with Mitchell, the Cavs have moved closer to the holy grail of the NBA. So it was only fitting that Mitchell broke his silence after being swarmed with speculation for the entirety of a season.
With the contract signed and secured, it was time for Mitchell to hit the road. Driving along the roads of California, Mitchell addressed his latest big-money move. “All year I’ve been saying the same sh*t. Imma say how much I like it. Every day it’s like, ‘Oh he gonna do this, he gonna do that.’ I don’t get it. It is what it is. I’m glad I got this sh*t done. Now to get focus, you know what I’m saying!”, Mitchell said in a video posted on his IG story.
This was not the first time the 27-year-old had to respond to the rumors about him leaving Cleveland. In May, Chris Fedor reported that Mitchell “grew frustrated with some teammates’ lack of maturity, focus, playoff-level readiness, and a willingness to listen.”
Mitchell did not hesitate to call caps and dismissed the story by writing, “Yeah aight (cap emoji) I’m sick of yall sometimes!”, on his X account. This new contract not only means he will be bagging $50.1 million a year. It also gives him the launching pad to secure a $380 million 5-year deal once he completes 10 years of service in the league in 2027. But now this is a problem for Darius Garland which can ultimately send him away from Cleveland.
Donovan Mitchell’s contract puts Darius Garland in peril
The big issue now ahead of Kenny Atkinson and the Cavs is how to fit Donovan Mitchell with Darius Garland. Two ball-dominating guards proved time and again in the past seasons that they are well off on their own. To put it mildly, their partnership often fell flat, with one rendering the other useless. Mitchell’s contract extension was imperative as the franchise had no desire to see him leave next season for nothing. And since two swords cannot fit in a single scabbard, it puts Garland in a lurch, who needs to move out of Cleveland.
But there’s bad news for the Cavs. As per insider Jason Lloyd, Garland’s market value has plummeted. For a player who only appeared 57 times in the regular season, that is not something unusual. His 5-year, $197 million contract will also not do him any favor in the trade market, as there are not many teams boasting a significant cap space. And those who possess the financial flexibility already have a point guard in their arsenal. The biggest name in the market missing a point guard is the Lakers. They’ve made D’Angelo Russell available on the trade blocks and Garland’s Rich Paul ties could influence his future. But will the Lakers show flexibility to crunch their cap space further? We’ll have to wait and see.
Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker Leonard Armato had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out our exclusive interview with him.
