Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell opened up about the previous rumors in his NBA career that linked him to the Miami Heat.
“For years, everyone has talked about if I like Rudy [Gobert], or talked about me going to the New York Knicks or the Miami Heat,” he told The Athletic. “So, it’s great to finally have that sense of peace.”
Mitchell was traded from the Utah Jazz to Cleveland ahead of the 2022-23 season, and he has helped the Cavs become perennial playoff contenders. Cleveland earned the No. 4 seed in the East in each of his first two seasons with the team, and last season, it won a playoff series for the first time in Mitchell’s time with the franchise against the Orlando Magic.
This season, the Cavs are off to an amazing start, going 26-4 through their first 30 games. They currently hold the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the best record in the NBA.
Mitchell had been linked as a trade candidate for the Heat at times, but the star guard opted to sign an extension with the Cavs this past offseason.
The deal is expected to keep Mitchell in Cleveland through the 2026-27 season, and he has a player option for the 2027-28 campaign.
This season, the five-time All-Star is averaging 23.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from beyond the arc.
While the Heat didn’t end up landing Mitchell in a trade, they are still in a solid position going forward with their core of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro.
There’s a chance Jimmy Butler will remain a part of that core for the long haul as well, although there have been trade rumors surrounding the six-time All-Star since he’s essentially in the final year of his deal (Butler has a player option for the 2025-26 season that he’s expected to decline).
The Heat made the NBA Finals in the 2022-23 season – when Mitchell was in his first season with the Cavs – so there’s no doubt that Miami can still make some noise in the Eastern Conference even though it never landed the star guard.
For now, the Heat are focused on having the best possible 2024-25 season, as their record by the trade deadline could influence how they deal with Butler – and other pieces on their roster – going forward.
