Cavs’ Altman Hopes To Reach Extension With Donovan Mitchell

Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman confirmed at Friday’s end-of-season press conference that reaching an extension with Donovan Mitchell will be a priority, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes in a subscriber-only piece.

“Donovan is our guy,” Altman told reporters during the 32-minute exchange. “He’s elevated everything about this franchise and this organization, so when he professes his love for being here, we’re fortunate to have him and we’ll work out those details when it comes time.”

The 29-year-old guard has one guaranteed year left on his current contract at $50.1MM, along with a $53.8MM player option for 2027/28. He will become extension-eligible July 7 when the Cavs can offer a new four-year deal worth up to $272MM, but Fedor notes that it may be in Mitchell’s best interest to wait.

Mitchell will be a 10-year veteran next summer, which allows him to sign a five-year supermax deal in the neighborhood of $350MM. He will also become eligible for certain contract perks, including a no-trade clause.

Altman didn’t directly answer a question about whether he plans to submit an extension offer to Mitchell on July 7, Fedor adds.

“All I can tell you is Donovan has been steadfast in how much he loves it here and so there hasn’t been any question of will he be here and does he want to be here,” Altman said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, right? That’s the best thing, right? When we have a superstar of his caliber that wants to be in Cleveland, that’s our best ambassador, that’s our best recruiter … I think the bigger question is the one that’s been answered is, does he want to be here and does he want to be here long term? I think he’s answered that. He’s still playing the best basketball of his career, and he finally broke through to get to a conference finals and he wants more. We’re getting him at his peak right now and we hope that that continues.”

Mitchell indicated a desire to remain in Cleveland after the team’s playoff run came to an end on Monday, saying “I love it here” at the post-game press conference. He also expressed confidence that the organization can continue to compete for a championship.

The Cavaliers have focused on building a title contender around Mitchell ever since he was acquired from Utah in the summer of 2022. He’s coming off his seventh straight All-Star season and earned Second-Team All-NBA honors after averaging 27.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 70 games.

“Eight long years to get back here,” Altman said of the conference finals appearance, which was the team’s first since 2018. “The four years without him, no playoffs. Four years with him, playoffs.”