RUMOR: Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell to End Up on Surprising Eastern Conference Team Amid 2024 Contract Dispute

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have a tough time convincing Mitchell to extend his stay in Cleveland, as many believe he’ll be refusing his $37.10-million option in 2025-26. If the Cavs fail to convince him to stay, it might be in their best interests to trade him.

The Cavs gave up too much draft capital—three first-round picks were sent to the Utah Jazz in 2022—to acquire him. With the Brooklyn Nets becoming one of the frontrunners to land him, the Cavs front office might be willing to send him away to recover some of the assets they lost to the Jazz.

Per Sportsnaut’s Vincent Frank:

New York Post Brooklyn Nets beat Brian Lewis noted recently (h/t HoopsHype) that the Nets are expected to be interested in Mitchell this coming summer.

The off-court fit is rather obvious. Mitchell is a native of New York City. He had in the past talked a lot about playing in his home city. While most of that has focused on the New York Knicks, Brooklyn also makes a ton of sense.

The Nets are coming off an ugly 50-loss season. They just hired former Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez to be their next head coach.

The Nets have good prospects for their future and a new head coach that promises exciting basketball. Since the Knicks already have their franchise player in Jalen Brunson, Brooklyn is the next-best thing for Mitchell.

Meanwhile, the Nets will be getting a spectacular player. Donovan Mitchell averaged 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.1 assists on 46.2%/36.8%/86.5% shooting splits. He’ll be the perfect guy to take over and allow Mikal Bridges to play a more complementary role for the Nets.

The Cavs hope the narrative changes if they make an unlikely deep playoff run. However, it seems they’re also not afraid to prepare for life after him.