As the NBA Playoffs continue to heat up, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell will have a lot on the table. And it will all depend on the Cavs postseason outcome.
Mitchell will be extension eligible this summer and is currently under contract throughout the upcoming 2026-27 season for nearly $50 million. If no extension comes to fruition, the 29-year-old guard will have a $53.8 million player option by the summer of 2027. At that point, he could either return to Cleveland for that figure or opt out and test unrestricted free agency. A major factor in any decision made by Mitchell and his camp could be how far his current Cavaliers squad makes it in the playoffs.
Anything short of an Eastern Conference finals appearance in a wide open East will be a disappointment. Mitchell has never made a Conference Finals in his entire nine-year career.
With that being said, there’s one other option with Mitchell’s contract situation if an extension isn’t reached in the coming months: a trade out of Cleveland. And yes, the Miami Heat have been linked as a potential trade partner already.
According to Bleacher Report insider Jake Fischer, he believes Miami will “very much” be interested in acquiring Mitchell if he becomes available on the trade market.
Could Donovan Mitchell really be the Miami Heat’s next whale?
This NBA season hasn’t even finished, yet the Heat have been attached to all three of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard and now Mitchell as potential trade targets. Clearly, Antetokounmpo will remain the main focus— which has been Miami’s game plan for the past year. However, Mitchell is another ‘in his prime’ star capable of being a terrific franchise altering backup plan.
Just how likely is a Mitchell acquisition for Miami, though? I wouldn’t bet on it.
He has been another repeated Heat star target for years now. There is a relationship between he and Bam Adebayo on and off the court and fits that same timeline as Adebayo. But it just doesn’t make too much logical sense, considering Cleveland is in a much better position to compete as presently constructed than Miami.
It has also seemed like the Cavaliers and Mitchell have established a healthy working relationship together, as the seven-time All-Star has never once shown any disgruntlement since being a member of the Cavs. The Cleveland front office assuredly values Mitchell enough to reach his desired money figure moving forward. They will do so barring any shocking roster changes. He is coming off a 2025-26 regular season with averages of a career-high 27.9 points on efficient 48/36/87 shooting splits to go along with 5.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals across 70 games played.
Unlike other likely Heat targets like Giannis or Leonard, Mitchell is in a winning situation in Cleveland. It would take an unexpected change in vision for both parties between the Cavs and Mitchell. Only then, would it make sense to truly entertain the idea of Miami making a push for him.
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Det lost coz one of their “best” player is sidelined 😆😂
what happened to duren did he get hurt
harden 8 for 21 thats not very good.
theres no way donovan leaving cleveland.hes a ss unless hes unhappy there
det doesnt have a reliable second scorer.
Supposed to be Tobias
yeah hes like a #3 not a #2 manila
refs fk detroit who cares lgh
wheres the great duren did he foul out was watching marlins game little bit
What the heck is Harden doing?! Playoff endgames are his achilles
playoff games period although until the end hes been good tonight which is a rareity for him.it almost looks like he throws playoff games he plays so bad
james had ez alley oop wtf
james turnover jeez
u think james has ever shaved?
strus turns cade over wow
up 4 harden dribbles dribbles dribbles air ball
harden air ball on key possession guy suks in playoffs one on one sht dribble dribble dribble.thanks for suking when u were on okc when we beat u guys for our first ring beard.theres a heat fan who thinks u didnt help us get a ring
wheres duren the great ,not in there not sure he fouled out .reed i thought has been the better player
Wow ot. Mobley personal run
refs blew it there fk that should be reviewed why not
allen fouled thompson looked like thompsons d wow
That’s 29 different players the Heat are interested in. One from each team. Plus 12-15 first round picks and 10-12 second rounders. It’s exhausting keeping up.
So far, draft Yexel, trade for Kahwi, trade for Missi, re-sign Wiggins. Sounds like a plan.
(Note,: Westbrook is free agent).
Scratch Missi. Make it Paul Reed.
strus on fire
Did anyone consider Duren a difference maker when he was drafted? Is he a difference maker?
hell no.bams better player
Very similar stats 20/10ish.
bam can shoot duren cant
Duren doesn’t shoot 3s, but has a much higher fg%. Even when Bam wasn’t shooting 3s, he was never close to Duren’s 65.2% career average. But no doubt Bam is the better player.
True. Duran can block. Bam can’t.
whos a better player in your opinion i value yours more than rc
No problem, I don’t value yours at all, as you can probably tell.
Bam.
Duren vs Bam.
i would take paul reed or stewart for our softy team
Duren was in the conversation for All-NBA this year. Was an absolute steal on draft night in 2022 when he was drafted #13. Youngest player in the draft at 18, with a 7’5″ wingspan. Was clear on draft night he went too low.
One bad playoff series at age 22 doesn’t change that. People here were saying a few months ago he was better than Bam, didn’t agree with that but he has a ton of potential esp. on offense.
james harden why the f would somebody trade for that loser
17 years straight in playoffs.
jimmys season always breaks your heart.he always plays with great players to
we have to thank thobias harris for being better than jimmy.
Whale this whale that….big fish here and there. Just get it done. Or not. I don’t think DMitch is going anywhere imo. But this article might imply Cavs loses so Mitchell will seek out? And Miami goes in for another fishing expedition.
Anyways, I’m rooting for Cavs vs NY ecf
I root against whatever team Harden is on.
why he got us our first ring
No. He. Did. Not.
okc series he was so bad yes he did
You are ridiculous. Players like Wade and Shaq got our first ring, not Harden.
they were the fav james just fkd up
No, our guys were better in that series obviously.
Starting to smell fishy around here.
dean wade why is he on the floor ,hes very jovicish
Lot less mula$
He’s on the floor to guard the opponent’s top scorer. BI and Scottie last round, Cade this round
anthony mason charles oakley ud pat knows what a a rugged pf is and he gives us niko jovic smh
dunc got axed dam love watching his d
Duncan Robinson has been ruled out for Game 5 with lower-back soreness.
Correct. Injury, not performance.
yeah i didnt see him in there thought it was defense related.
Everyone starts out with us. Why we fall for it each time is a good question. This trade is just as much ado about nothing at this stage as the Bucks trade. The Bucks are not even sure they want to trade Giannis and yet people get all excited that he might come to their team of the ten or more he is associated with. Doesn’t anyone remember the Bucks put him out there and then pulled him back just like three months ago. And yet everyone uses us for leverage because everyone knows Riley is the most reliable sap in the league when it comes to whale chasing.
Talk is cheap. Let me know when something really happens.
Giannis 99.9% will be traded, it’s a question of where. He isn’t extending in Milwaukee according to Shams, and previously one Bucks co-owner Wes Edens said Giannis will either sign an extension or be traded. Then the other Jimmy Haslam said a resolution will happen by the draft.
Mitchell could easily be traded since he’s in the exact same contract situation as Giannis, on an expiring contract, there’s just been less overt speculation about it. Cleveland is the most expensive roster in the NBA this year and traded Garland for Harden not just to win now but also to save money.
Giannis is a far better target than Mitchell imo
we get both and make bam third best player that would be nice.get one top 6 east team.goal of off season make bam third best player
Bam was #2 scorer in 2020 Finals, #1 in 2023. Goal is just what Riley said, get Bam more help.
You can’t build a winning team anymore with 3 max contracts because of the 2023 CBA. Bam 30%, Mitchell 30%, Giannis 35% would be 95% of the salary cap. You can go over the cap and the aprons but would then be subject to restrictions like losing draft picks. And on the court it wouldn’t be ideal because both Mitchell and Giannis need the ball and can’t do anything off ball. Mitchell doesn’t move on offense without the ball and Giannis isn’t a shooter. Look at Cleveland where Mitchell and Harden take turns on offense and it works only as long as they both hit shots.
Haslam actually said they still might sign him, which is what they said last time, way back so very long ago in 2026.
I agree on rather having Giannis if that really did come to pass.
Milwaukee’s position according to Jon Horst is they are pursuing two paths, one with Giannis and one without. That’s significant because Horst until now has always maintained the idea that Milwaukee is trying to put more pieces around Giannis to win and is not thinking about anything else. But it’s clear Giannis will be traded if he doesn’t agree to extend. And there is no reason for him to extend because Milwaukee lacks the talent to contend going forward, no prospects other than Ryan Rollins and no draft picks after this year. The rest I think is clearly just a negotiating stance by Milwaukee/them trying to get as much as possible in return in a trade.
greeks good as gone.mitchell havent heard that.cleve aint doing pat any favors
According to reports, the Heat are trade suitors for every extension eligible good player, every disgruntled star, every available free agent, and just about every player in the league who is ambulatory. The Heat will be petitioning the league for an exception to carry 25 players, considering all the deals we will be making.
I will say again, I can’t wait until we get to the draft and the immediate aftermath so we can learn what the Heat is REALLY doing and who will be on this team.
I know. We won’t get fooled again.
the who are still touring
But not in the US.
saw them 2 times last time at panthers arena in 2021 they were ok saw them in the 70s in miami baseball stadium in pouring rain prime who
I saw them twice too. Once in the 80s at Joe Robbie and in August on the final tour. Excellent both times.