Davion Mitchell played the best basketball of his life in his short time with the Miami Heat, and now the 6-foot-1 guard could be looking to cash in on a career payday this summer.
Mitchell, 26, will be a restricted free agent this offseason. While Miami is expected to offer a qualifying offer (officially set at $8.7 million), allowing them to match any offer sheets he receives, the former top-10 pick could upwards of $14 million this offseason, over double his $6.5 million cap hit from last season, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
“The Heat is expected to extend an $8.7 million qualifying offer to Mitchell before the June 29 deadline to make him a restricted free agent, allowing Miami to match outside offers in free agency to retain Mitchell,” Chiang wrote Friday. “If the Heat doesn’t extend that qualifying offer, Mitchell would become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and Miami would lose the power to always have an opportunity match outside offers.
“With Mitchell making $6.5 million this past season in the final year of his rookie-scale contract after getting drafted with the ninth overall pick in 2021, he could draw offers around the $14 million full midlevel exception range this summer.”
In 30 games with the Heat, Mitchell averaged 10.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and 44.7 percent from 3-point range across 31.6 minutes per game. He not only became one of Erik Spoelstra’s most reliable guards, but players entirely.
He eventually carried his late-season surge into the postseason, averaging 15.0 points and 6.3 assists on 61.0 percent shooting and 7-of-14 from 3-point range.
It’s worth mentioning that the aforementioned $14 million is similar to the full mid-level exception–projected to be at $14.1 million–that over-the-cap teams will have access to. However, using below the taxpayer’s portion ($5.7 million) will hard-cap teams below the first apron.
Miami, on the other hand, won’t need to use any of its exceptions to re-sign Mitchell, who they own full bird rights on. Though how it allocates every dollar matters, especially since Pat Riley has talked about the possibility of ducking under the luxury tax to avoid onerous repeater tax penalties.
Do you think Mitchell will be out of the Heat’s price range? Let us know in the comments!
***
To check out our other content, click here.
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here!
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
- What the Heat should do this offseason couldn’t be more obvious
- If Heat acquire Kevin Durant, they must have a foolproof plan for what happens next
- Alec Burks wants to return to Heat
- Could the Miami Heat acquire Kevin Durant at a discount?
- Kevin Durant can’t allow trade situation to turn into Damian Lillard 2.0
- 5 reasons why Heat should avoid acquiring an aging star this summer
- Report: Durant trade rumors heat up, Suns show interest in Andrew Wiggins
the defense on brunson was unreal why herro needs to be traded
thomas bryant was a factor hit 3 3s kevin love out for personal reasons thats our miami heat a hot mess apron no apron love should have been dealt over tb
Well, you can’t simply disregard the financial side of the NBA, as much as you want to. But I agree, there is no doubt Bryant would be more valuable to the team than Love.
Happy to see Bryant getting some playing time and his 15 minutes of fame. Who knows, it’s always the guy you least suspect that blossoms in the playoffs. Haliburton vs Shai should be interesting. Don’t tell me a guy like Davion wouldn’t come in handy about now. I’d be POA’ing their asses off. Make them work for every shot. All harassment…all the time. Need youth and energy to keep up that pace. Top 2 teams are young and intense. They work their butts off. Gonna be one hell of a series.
delon wright with some very good minutes .i think hes a better player than davion sun?.hes much bigger davs little on small side
Did you forget that we had him on our roster recently? He is an okay player, perhaps a 9th or 10th man on any roster. Not as good as Davion.
everytime he played was impressive.davions better?
He had 2 points and 1 rebound today. Yeah, he’s great.
playmaking hes better.he can defend,davs a better shooter.isnt he dorrelles brother.they hate me on ny site.i was on there giving my thoughts.okc in 5
No he is not. He’s a 9, 10, 11 guy on most teams, just like he is now. Davion would be a starter, 6, or 7.
I find that hard to believe heat. You have such a smooth and sensitive way about you, I can’t imagine anyone being perturbed by anything you say. But that’s just me.
i like dav alot like dru like delon they can all guard
True dat
I like him but he can’t hit a 3 to save his life. Not high assists either. Davion is a better player on offense and defense. I googled the question and got this.
Davion Mitchell is generally considered the superior defender between Davion Mitchell and Delon Wright. Mitchell is known for his tenacious, high-energy, and disruptive point-of-attack defense. He’s described as an elite lateral quickness and a strong defender who can absorb contact.
Delon Wright is a classic hard nosed POA defender who doesn’t have much else to offer. His advanced defensive metrics are some of the best for a backup namely his deflections which is a Heat staple. Offensively he’s got a great assist to turnover ratio, otherwise everything else is at low volume.
While I know how unlikely it is, I would still try to trade down from pick 20 to the Nets 26 & 27. I am not seeing a huge dropoff. SNY (New York sports) points out potential available 26/27 picks from 3 sources.
ESPN – Landeborg and Fleming.
Bleacher Report – Traore and Powell
Yahoo Sports – Sorber and Saraf.
Also:
Fox Sports – Powell and Penda.
Draftroom – Clayton and Richardson
CBS Sports – Clayton and Beringer (and still predicting Fleming, Penda, Gonzalez and Riley still on the board)
I believe at least 1 or 2 of our current young players will be included in upcoming trades. I like the idea of adding any combination of backup center + pg, pf + pg, or other combo on rookie contracts. Sure, if Fears or even Queen fall to 20, you take them, but if not….
Sounds good if there are still players with potential left by then. Worth a high risk/high reward type for at least one of the two picks.
Take this guy off your wish list for now.
Zion Williamson accused of rape in addition to “sexual, physical, emotional and financial” abuse over the span of a multiyear relationship, according to a lawsuit submitted to Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45393231/zion-williamson-sued-allegations-rape-years-abuse
Well, I really don’t understand, how those boys are getting into the trouble.
They should know, that they are famous, that everything they say and do can be filmed, but still, they do thing like that.
Like Edwards, I heard he have 4 kids with 4 different woman. And what is wrong with people around him, to not teach him, that condoms exists, for example. Or both of them to treat women as human beings.
I would kick both of them out of the team if there would be in Miami. If you are not smart enough to not doing things like that, then you are not smart enough to play basketball in my team.
NBA players are notorious for having a girlfriend in every port (city). Once in a while those girlfriends get pregnant. Check this out.
https://fadeawayworld.net/20-nba-stars-with-the-most-children-calvin-murphy-has-14-kids
Well, yeah, I know. But I watched the starting five, with Jimmy and Edwards playing there. Half of the show was family here, family there, kids my precious, I m the best father… etc.
And then you see Edwards got a baby, and it seems he didnt really understand that its his.
I wouldn’t have such players in the team.
You might have trouble putting together a team. The bigger the name, the greater the temptation. Most of it is done discreetly, because players don’t want to advertise… except guys like Harden. Wilt, Shaq, Magic, Kobe, Rodman, Pippen, and many others were all big time womanizers. When you are rich and famous, beautiful women apparently throw themselves at your feet, or so I hear.
takes one to know one
One of those woman is your first lady, former Slovenian. She might be tolerated in US, but around here she is known as a whore. Why would she marry such a horrible man, if not for money?
For the players, no worries. There must be enough of religious fanatics (former womanizers) among players to form a solid team.
Hey, I don’t disagree. You had me convinced at whore. Hypocrisy is not just a word among many Americans, it’s a way of life. The belief in Christian values coming out of one side of their mouths and hatred coming out of the other.
Truth!
Not only in America.
I hope Miami re-signs Davion. He added energy, excitement and a breath of life to an almost dead team that was left after the quitter’s months long detrimental behavior and ultimate exit.
In two short months, Miami gave Mitchell an opportunity to demonstrate the offensive and playmaking potential that he hadn’t been provided in Sacramento or Toronto. Like others before him (e.g., Nunn, Tucker, Crowder, Strus, Vincent and Martin), the environment in Miami brought out the best in him. When those players decided to leave Miami to play for teams that offered them more money, they were unable to duplicate their Miami performances. With the exception of Martin, those teams overpaid for each of them. Miami dodged a bullet when low IQ Martin made a huge mistake by signing with Philadelphia for 4 years/$32M ($8M per year average), after turning down Miami’s offer of 5 years/$65M ($13M per year average).
But I digress, all things considered, I think a 4 year/$48M guaranteed contract is very fair. $12M per year is nearly twice what he made in 2024-2025 and he would be playing with the defensive-minded team that gave him the opportunity to blossom. That must be worth something to him. Nonetheless, in the end, it may take an offer similar to Martin’s (5 years/$65M/$13 per year) or at most, a four year contract at the mid-level cap of $14.1M/$56.4M total) to keep Mitchell.
If Riley does decide to low-ball Mitchell or if he otherwise decides to leave Miami for greener pastures/contending teams in need of an experienced two-way PG (such as Lakers, T’Wolves, Bucks, Magic and others), the Heat will be left with two undrafted PGs on the roster, Dru Smith and Isaiah Stevens. Although listed as a PG, Tyler Herro functions more as a Combo/SG.
The first date NBA teams can make offers to their own free agents is the day after the NBA Finals conclude, which is June 18, or sooner. Hopefully, Riley resolves this matter before the NBA draft on June 25th. It may influence how Miami drafts (whether best available player or best available PG).
Thats a lot for a backup point guard.
Until Miami has a better one, who says he is a back-up PG? 5 years/$90M is a lot for a part-time, one-way, no defense, 3 point specialist.
i would say when dav hoisted a 3 and 55 hoisted a 3 felt better about davs going in than duncs.ditto burks too who is a better all round player and much cheaper.dum pat.if dav gonna start hes got to average at least 12-15 pts.be a threat out there not just a facilitator.
Miami needs a good point guard, which can distribute the ball better then Mitchell. He has a lot of qualities, but playmaking is not his main strength.
Miami has to get below the first apron to avoid paying penalties. Reducing payroll while recruiting a ss point guard might be a little difficult. Heat may need to wait until 2026 to fill that need after several current contracts expire. Meanwhile, until and unless someone better comes along, Mitchell is the starting PG, therefore, he should be paid accordingly. I think Mitchell has a lot of untapped potential. With Miami this past season, he averaged:
– 10.3 ppg,
– 50.4 fg%
– 44.7 3pt%
– 2.7 rpg
– 5.3 apg
– 1.4 spg
Those were all career highs except for his scoring average his rookie season (11.5 ppg), when he was a starting SG for Sacramento next to PG De’Aaron Fox.
The average assists per game for a typical NBA point guard is 6.5. Elite NBA point guards may average 6-8 or more assists per game.
I’m sure if Davion has the chance to start the season with Miami, becomes more familiar with the players and system and has a chance to fully blossom into a starting PG, he will be able to increase his assists per game from 5.3 to 6-8 per game.
u change 10 ppg to 15 pts (less herro shots)5 to 7 assists very attainable u have a quality pg 50%fg 45% 3s are ss #s
I agree. I see Mitchell capable of producing far more in the right environment. In his junior/final year of college at Baylor, he averaged:
17.0 ppg, .511 fg%, .447 3pt%, 3.2 rpg, 6.7 apg, 2.3 spg.
He had a defensive rating of 96.0 (outstanding).
Furthermore, he was:
Game organization is more than assisting. Thats where Mitchell is not that good. Dru is an example of a real playmaker. He might be better player at starting point position then Mitchell.
bucks will not be a contender next year,bucks will def be one of the worse teams next year.magic have a good pg suggs.lakers wolves could use him.heat better sign him asap to at least 10 mil or hes gonna bolt.we talked about disappointments yesterday he was the only pleasant surprise of the year.guys like jjj pelle jovic showed very little to get excited about .this team is a hot mess and for now looks like a bad team unless pat does something miracously
If Riley does nothing more than re-sign Mitchell and Burks, buy out Robinson and trade for DeRozan, the Heat should be a .500 team. Meanwhile, several contracts will expire in 2026, freeing up $45M+ to use for a star player. The Heat also has first round draft picks coming this year and next. Finally, I expect at least three of Miami’s players currently on rookie contracts (Ware, Jovic, Johnson, Jaquez and Larsson), will show substantial progress next season. In addition, one or more G Leaguers (Smith, Stevens or Christopher) may earn NBA contracts. As discussed previously, Miami needs to follow the lead of other successful NBA teams such as OKC, Boston, Houston and Indiana by drafting, trading for and signing two-way players, to the extent possible. In today’s NBA, having multiple one way (offensive or defensive) players are a luxury Miami can no longer afford.
pay him paid 55 15mil
More than that. $15.65M first year and increasing yearly until 2025-2026 when it will be $19,888,000 ($90M total). Career 11.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 43.4 fg%, 39.7 3pt%
and dont forget the defense.i said all along hes unplayable.think i was right.having dunc and ty on the floor at the same time is a fireable offense