Why extending Davion Mitchell after 2024-25 season should be a priority

Ahead of the 2024-25 NBA Trade Deadline, the Miami Heat was forced to make a franchise-altering move to trade a disgruntled Jimmy Butler. By nature of his poor play on the court and it being his fourth poor exit from an organization, Butler tanked his trade value in the months leading up to the deadline.

Yet, the Heat were still able to secure three players headlined by former All-Star Andrew Wiggins in the deal. Though one player–Davion Mitchell, a restricted free agent this offseason–has continued to blossom with his new team, which creates an interesting proposition for the Heat this offseason.

However, I think the team’s decision about bringing the former top-10 pick back is fairly easy as the franchise continues to transition into a new phase without Butler.

Re-signing Davion Mitchell should be a priority for Heat this offseason:

While Wiggins was the headline piece, arguably no player from that trade has impacted the Heat more than Mitchell, who’s averaging 9.5 points, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals on 51.7 percent shooting, including 45.8 percent from 3-point range (2.8 3PA) through 21 games.

Mitchell was recently moved to the bench to provide better lineup balance, and it really hasn’t affected him at all. In those seven games, he’s averaging 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals on 52.8/44.4/73.3 shooting splits.

As we transition into this new build, players exceeding and growing in their roles is very important. He consistently applies pressure to opposing ball-handlers at the point-of-attack–picking them up 94 feet, snaking screens and bleeding the shot clock so opposing offenses have a more difficult time getting into the actions or matchups they’d like.

All of that matters–and it’s been exactly what the Heat have lacked outside of Dru Smith.

What’s also flown under-the-radar is how legitimately impactful the 6-foot-2 pesky guard has been offensively relative to expectation. While Miami was the league’s worst 3-point shooting team over their 10-game losing streak, Mitchell has been one of the few quality shooters–albeit on low volume.

When he has the ball in his hands, the constant pressure he applies to a defense–whether in transition or in the halfcourt–can’t be ignored. Generating paint touches is the most fashionable form of offense and Mitchell’s incredible quickness and north-south burst allows him to generate those at will.

Mitchell will occasionally rifle passes at 110 MPH–sometimes too fast–but he’s been one of the Heat’s best playmakers upon arrival. In a perfect world, that he wouldn’t be his role–but he’s answered the bell when he’s been called upon.

One of the ways to not only succeed as an organization in a completely phase, but in life in its entirety, is surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals. Mitchell embodies the #HEATCulture™ moniker, the competitive spirit and unselfish backbone this organization was built on and has preached for the last 30-plus years. That, in it of itself, should be the primary selling point.

Entering restricted free agency for the first time of his career, Miami will have more control than not because they have the right to match any other offer sheet presented Mitchell’s way.

Of course, a team with cap space (hello, Brooklyn) could put pressure on the Heat to retain Mitchell, though those teams also have to be cautious about living with those financial consequences should Mitchell accept a bloated offer sheet.

Any deal in the $10-ish million per year territory should be a no-brainer for both teams. But the question is if the Heat believe retaining him should be a priority. And while my voice doesn’t matter, I’m here to say it should.

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