Cavs’ Mitchell To Miss More Time Due To Knee Injury
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, who returned to action on Wednesday after missing seven games due to a left knee bone bruise, is expected to be sidelined again due to his nagging knee issue, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required).
Michell didn’t look like himself in his first two games back, scoring just 27 total points on 9-of-29 shooting (31.0%). He lacked explosiveness on Saturday vs. Houston in a game he exited multiple times due to injury, Fedor notes. The All-Star guard admitted during a post-game media session that the knee is still a problem.
“I’m probably not playing next game, to be honest with you,” Mitchell told reporters, including Fedor. “Just gotta take some time to rest and get it right. I thought I was ready. I’m not. It sucks. I want to be out there. But it’s clear as day. Even to myself. I can’t fool myself. Just get it right and be ready when that time comes.”
Mitchell told Fedor that he’s not sure how much time he’ll have to miss, but said no operation should be necessary and expressed optimism that he’ll be back to 100% before the end of the regular season.
“The one thing we don’t have time for is rest but that’s what you need is rest. Sit my ass down and take the proper approach because at the end of the day it’s April that we are getting ready for,” he said. “Tried to hide it as much as I can. But it’s pretty blatant and obvious. It sucks. I’m pissed off. But I trust these guys. Gonna go out there and do their thing. I will get right. And then be ready to go.
“… I’m a very eager person. I want to be out there. I have no doubt I will be fine. Everybody else believes the same thing. It’s not a concern from that standpoint. It’s more me fighting my own battle.”
The Cavaliers are currently dealing with a series of injuries to their starters. Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain) has been on the shelf for six consecutive games, while Max Strus (left knee strain) has been out for the past seven. Dean Wade, who had taken over Mobley’s spot in the starting lineup, rejoined the team on Friday after missing three games for personal reasons, but was ruled out for Saturday’s contest due to right knee soreness.
Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on Saturday that it will require a group effort to keep the team on track during another Mitchell absence. The Cavs currently have a 42-25 record and are one game back of the Bucks for the No. 2 seed in the East, with a two-game cushion on the No. 4 Knicks.
“It’s everybody. Everybody has to tick up,” Bickerstaff. “That’s what we’ve done in the past. Everybody has stepped their own game up and played to their strengths. We have proven that we can do it because we have always done it together. That is the focus of every single night, every conversation we have, it’s about the whole.”
For what it’s worth, Mitchell is already ineligible for end-of-season awards, including All-NBA honors, since he has missed more than 17 games this season.
2024 Free Agent Stock Watch: Central Division
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents during the 2024 offseason. We consider whether their stock is rising or falling due to their performance and other factors. Today, we’re focusing on a handful of players from the Central Division.
Patrick Williams, F, Bulls
- 2023/24: $9,835,881
- 2024/25: RFA
- Stock: Neutral
The Bulls are in a tricky spot with Williams, whose season ended early when it was announced in February that he would undergo foot surgery that would sideline him for the remainder of ’23/24. He’ll be a restricted free agent if Chicago gives him a $12.97MM qualifying offer, which should be a lock.
Still just 22 years old, Williams is a former No. 4 overall pick who has shown glimpses of tantalizing two-way upside over his first four seasons. The problem is, those glimpses have been fleeting and have never been sustained for a prolonged period of time.
In fairness to Williams, injuries have certainly played a role in his up-and-down play — while he played 71 games as a rookie and all 82 games in 2022/23, he was limited to just 17 games in ’21/22 due to a wrist injury and only made 43 appearances this season due to foot and ankle issues.
I’m sure the Bulls would have loved for Williams to have a breakout season in ’23/24 and cement his place as a cornerstone to build around going forward. But his averages — 10.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .443/.399/.788 shooting in 43 games (27.3 MPG) — were basically in line with his career numbers. Not better or worse, just neutral.
Williams has a high ceiling on both ends of the court due to his size, length, athleticism and skills. His production hasn’t matched his talent level to this point though, and there are a wide range of outcomes for what his next contract could look like, depending on how much external interest he draws as a RFA.
Isaac Okoro, G/F, Cavaliers
- 2023/24: $8,920,795
- 2024/25: RFA
- Stock: Up
Okoro was selected with the No. 5 overall pick in 2020 — right after Williams. And as with Williams, Okoro showed glimpses of being a productive rotation regular for Cleveland during his first three seasons.
So why is Okoro’s stock up and Williams’ stuck in neutral? The answer is subjective of course, but part of it has to do with expectations.
After playing a career-low 21.7 minutes per game last season, Okoro is up to 27.2 MPG in ’23/24, and he has played well both as a starter and as a reserve. Overall, he’s averaging 9.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.9 SPG on .498/.399/.686 shooting in 57 games, including 34 starts.
The 23-year-old has improved in the area most critical to his development: three-point shooting. His 39.9% mark from deep is a career high, and he’s Cleveland’s best perimeter defender.
Like Williams, Okoro will be a restricted free agent in the offseason if he’s tendered a qualifying offer. Given the Cavs’ salary cap situation, I don’t expect him to receive much more than the mid-level exception, which is projected to be worth about $13.8MM annually on a four-year deal.
Okoro’s future with Cleveland was looking a little shaky last summer after the team acquired Max Strus and re-signed Caris LeVert. But he has become more decisive and effective on offense on top of being an already-strong defender, and I’d be very surprised if the Cavs didn’t keep him around in the offseason.
Jae Crowder, F, Bucks
- 2023/24: $3,196,448 (minimum salary; $2,019,706 cap hit)
- 2024/25: UFA
- Stock: Down
Now in his 12th NBA season, Crowder has far exceeded the careers of most second-round picks (he was selected No. 34 overall back in 2012). But he also appears to be at the tail end of his career.
The 33-year-old’s lengthy holdout with Phoenix last season was one of the more bizarre decisions for a player who was about to become a free agent. He was eventually moved to Milwaukee — his preferred destination — but at a significant cost: he made $10.2MM in ’22/23, and re-signed with the Bucks on a one-year, minimum-salary contract last summer.
Crowder hasn’t shown anything this year to prove he’s worth more than the veteran’s minimum going forward, averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG on .421/.353/.692 shooting. He has only appeared 36 games (23.8 MPG), having missed 31 games early in the season after suffering a left adductor and abdominal tear, which required surgery.
Perhaps things will change if Crowder has a strong playoff performance, but to my eyes, he’s at least a half-step slower on defense than he used to be, and that was always his calling card. At his age, it’s rare for that trend to reverse.
Jalen Smith, F/C, Pacers
- 2023/24: $5,043,773
- 2024/25: $5,417,386 player option
- Stock: Up
Smith, who turns 24 years old today (happy birthday), is actually the third former lottery pick from 2020 on this list, as he was selected No. 10 overall in the same draft as Williams and Okoro. However, he has had a much different NBA path than his fellow draftees.
Smith didn’t play much for the team that selected him, Phoenix, and the Suns declined their third-year team option on his rookie scale contract in 2021. He was traded to Indiana in February 2022, eventually re-signing with the Pacers on a three-year, $15.1MM deal with a player option for the final season.
In 2022/23, which was Smith’s first full season with the Pacers, it seemed like the team was a little unsure about how best to utilize him. He opened the season as the starting power forward, but it was an awkward fit on both ends of the court, and he was eventually moved to the bench, mostly playing backup center. Overall, he averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 0.9 BPG in 68 games (18.8 MPG).
Smith’s counting stats in ’23/24 — 10.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 0.6 BPG in 47 games (17.7 MPG) — are very similar to last season’s. There’s one huge difference though: he has been one of the most efficient offensive players in the NBA.
After posting a below-league-average 56.5 true shooting percentage in ’22/23, Smith is at 70.7 TS% in ’23/24, more than 12% above league average. He’s shooting 71.8% on twos and 44.2% on threes.
Given his elite offensive efficiency, decent defense, and age, it’s hard to imagine he’ll pick up his $5.42MM player option. The big man market is pretty thin in 2024, and Smith is in line for a raise — the two-year, $16MM deal Moritz Wagner signed with Orlando last summer should be his floor.
The Pacers will have cap room and Smith’s Early Bird rights if they want to bring him back. But they also have to pay Pascal Siakam, and third-year center Isaiah Jackson will be entering the final year of his rookie scale deal. Money could be a sticking point in negotiations.
Cavs Notes: Wade, Mobley, Strus, Thompson
There’s also still no specific timeline for the return of Max Strus from a left knee strain, Fedor adds. The Cavs’ starting small forward will miss his seventh straight game on Saturday.
After missing the Cavaliers‘ past three games for personal reasons, forward Dean Wade rejoined the club and participated in Friday’s practice, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required).
With forward Evan Mobley unavailable due to a left ankle sprain, Wade had been inserted into the starting lineup prior to his stint away from the team. Georges Niang was elevated to the starting five during Wade’s absence, and it’s unclear whether Wade will reclaim that spot once he’s ready to return, Fedor writes. The Cavaliers can put off that decision for at least one more game, since Wade will be out on Saturday in Houston due to knee soreness (Twitter link via Fedor).
As for Mobley, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the big man is doing some “light work” and making progress in his recovery. A source tells Fedor that Mobley did some shooting work on Friday, but didn’t participate in practice and is unlikely to play on the Cavaliers’ current road trip, which runs through Monday.
- In a separate subscriber-only story for Cleveland.com, Fedor notes that Tristan Thompson‘s 25-game suspension has come to an end, meaning he can once again be active for the Cavaliers as of Saturday. Thompson, who expressed excitement about returning, joked that he was so anxious to play that he “thought about sneaking into the arena a couple times” during his suspension. Bickerstaff, meanwhile, lauded Thompson’s impact in the locker room and referred to the veteran center as “this group’s big brother.”
Injury Notes: Mitchell, White, Luka, Green, Curry
After previously being listed as questionable, Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday following a seven-game absence, as first reported by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link).
Mitchell has been dealing with a left knee bone bruise that required a PRP injection to promote healing. He would have been in strong contention for an All-NBA team, but he missed his 18th game of the 2023/24 season on Monday, and is no longer eligible for postseason awards.
Led by a strong performance from Darius Garland and excellent team three point shooting (20-45, 44.4%), the Cavs were victorious in Mitchell’s return, defeating New Orleans by 21 points.
Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Bulls guard Coby White, one of the frontrunners for the Most Improved Player award, was injured after having his shot blocked by Pascal Siakam with about 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Chicago’s overtime victory over Indiana (Twitter video link). After the game, head coach Billy Donovan called it a hip injury and said White would undergo additional testing, but the fifth-year guard appeared to be in good spirits in the locker room, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago relays (Twitter links).
- Mavericks star Luka Doncic exited Wednesday’s victory over Golden State late in the fourth quarter and was later ruled out with left hamstring soreness, the team announced (via Twitter). It’s unclear if the MVP candidate will miss additional time with the injury.
- Warriors forward/center Draymond Green was ruled out for Wednesday’s loss due to lower back soreness, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. On a brighter note, two-time MVP Stephen Curry practiced with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors on Wednesday and will join Golden State in Los Angeles for Friday’s practice before determining whether he’ll face the Lakers on Saturday, head coach Steve Kerr told Slater and other media members (Twitter link).
Donovan Mitchell Now Ineligible For End-Of-Season Awards
Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell missed his 18th game of the season on Monday, meaning he has joined a growing list of star players who are ineligible for end-of-season awards in 2023/24, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The NBA introduced a rule this season requiring players to appear in at least 65 games in order to be eligible to receive votes for a Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, or Most Improved Player award, as well as for an All-NBA or All-Defensive spot.
Mitchell missed his seventh consecutive game on Monday due to a left knee bone bruise and has now appeared in just 47 of Cleveland’s 65 contests. Even if he were to return on Wednesday and play in every game for the rest of the regular season, he’d max out at 64 appearances.
As Marks notes (via Twitter), other notable players who are no longer eligible for end-of-season awards include Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Julius Randle, Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Ja Morant, OG Anunoby, LaMelo Ball, Jamal Murray, Kristaps Porzingis, and Mitchell’s teammates Darius Garland and Evan Mobley.
Several of those players likely wouldn’t have made All-NBA or All-Defensive teams even if they had reached the 65-game threshold, but Mitchell was a strong All-NBA candidate, having averaged 28.0 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.4 rebounds in 35.7 minutes per game so far this season, with a shooting line of .472/.371/.861. Those numbers aren’t far off the ones he posted in 2022/23, when he finished sixth in MVP voting and made the All-NBA Second Team.
While Mitchell won’t earn an All-NBA spot this season, that won’t have any impact on his next contract, since he’s no longer eligible for a super-max deal after being traded from Utah to Cleveland in 2022. He will be extension-eligible as of this July, however.
The Cavaliers could offer Mitchell a new contract that is worth 30% of the 2025/26 cap and covers up to four seasons (through ’28/29), with 8% annual raises. As Marks observes, based on the latest cap projections, that four-year max extension would be worth an estimated $199MM.
Cavaliers Will Need Continued Production From Dean Wade
- Dean Wade‘s 20-point explosion in the fourth quarter against Boston on Tuesday showed why the Cavaliers were willing to give him a three-year extension and part with Kevin Love last season, states Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. Wade’s production will become more important while Evan Mobley is sidelined with a sprained left ankle.
Extended Absence Anticipated For Cavs’ Evan Mobley
6:30pm: The Cavaliers announced (via Twitter) that Mobley will be reevaluated in approximately one week.
3:19pm: Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley is expected to be sidelined for an extended period after spraining his left ankle on Tuesday against the Celtics, league sources tell Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.
As The Athletic’s reporters note, the Cavs haven’t issued a formal update on Mobley’s status beyond ruling him out for Wednesday’s contest in Atlanta. An official timeline likely won’t be determined until the “significant” swelling of his ankle has subsided, per Charania, Vardon, and Lloyd.
However, one source tells The Athletic that “it will be some time” before Mobley is able to return, while another said he’ll be “out a while.”
Mobley suffered the injury in the third quarter on Tuesday when he landed awkwardly following a made dunk (video link via NBA.com). He reportedly left the arena on crutches after the Cavaliers erased a 22-point deficit and completed a dramatic comeback win over the NBA’s top team.
It’s discouraging news for a third-year big man who already missed a month-and-a-half earlier this season due to a separate injury. Mobley underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and was unavailable for 22 consecutive games in December and January.
In the 38 games he has been played, Mobley has been a key part of Cleveland’s starting lineup, averaging 15.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 31.1 minutes per night.
With Mobley on the shelf, Jarrett Allen will once again take on more responsibilities in the Cavs’ frontcourt, as he did earlier in the year. Dean Wade, who was a major factor in Tuesday’s comeback with 20 points in the fourth quarter, is another candidate for an increased role.
NBA Teams That Still Have Open Roster Spots
As we detailed on Tuesday, 17 players that had been on two-way contracts received promotions to standard deals between last month’s trade deadline and Monday’s two-way signing deadline.
However, even though those 17 players filled standard roster spots around the NBA and no team currently has an open two-way slot, there are still several openings on 15-man rosters across the league.
[RELATED: 2023/24 NBA Roster Counts]
Here’s a rundown of the teams that still have at least one standard roster spot available, along with some brief observations on how they might fill those openings:
Teams with two open roster spots
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New York Knicks
- Philadelphia 76ers
Teams are permitted to dip below 14 players on standard contracts for up to 14 days at a time. Currently, there are three teams taking advantage of that rule: the Timberwolves, Knicks, and Sixers.
There’s no real urgency for any of these clubs to sign a player in the short term — Philadelphia doesn’t have to re-add a 14th man until March 15, while New York’s and Minnesota’s deadlines are March 16 and 17, respectively.
Still, I’m not sure any of the three will wait that long to make a move. The Sixers and Knicks have a crowded injury list and could use some additional depth, while the Timberwolves have already reportedly reached an agreement on a 10-day deal with T.J. Warren — it just hasn’t been officially finalized yet.
[Note: Warren officially signed with the Wolves shortly after the publication of this story.]
Philadelphia could still use another frontcourt body with Joel Embiid on the shelf. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Taj Gibson eventually makes his way back to the Knicks, though he’s under contract with Detroit for the next 10 days. Marcus Morris was linked to Minnesota last month, though it remains unclear whether a union for the two sides remains in play.
Teams with one open roster spot
- Boston Celtics
- Detroit Pistons
- Note: The Pistons’ 14th man (Gibson) is on a 10-day contract.
- Golden State Warriors
- Phoenix Suns
- Utah Jazz
There’s no timeline for any of these teams to fill their 15th open roster spot. I’d expect the Pistons and Jazz to be a little more proactive about making a move though, since they’re both well below the luxury tax line and could potentially benefit from taking a look at some young players on 10-day deals for developmental purposes down the stretch.
The Celtics, Warriors, and Suns are all well above the tax threshold and aren’t in desperate need for depth pieces at the moment, so they’ll probably be patient when it comes to adding a 15th man.
Neemias Queta (Celtics) and Saben Lee (Suns) are candidates to be promoted from two-way contracts near the end of the season. The Warriors already elevated their most obvious candidate for a promotion (Lester Quinones), so it’s unclear what they may have in mind for their final roster move. Given how deep they are, it’s unlikely anyone the Dubs add would play at all in the postseason.
Teams whose 15th man is on a 10-day contract
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
The Cavaliers will open up a roster spot on Thursday when Sharife Cooper‘s 10-day contract expires. The Wizards (R.J. Hampton) and Pelicans (Izaiah Brockington) will follow suit next Wednesday, with the Raptors (Jahmi’us Ramsey) opening up their 15th roster spot next Thursday.
Each of those four players would be eligible for a second 10-day deal with his respective team. However, all four clubs seem to be rotating players in and out of that slot, so it’s possible that the Cavs, Pelicans, Raptors, and Wizards all finish the season with a different 15th man.
Toronto and Washington won’t make the playoffs and will likely eventually settle on a prospect who can be signed to a team-friendly multiyear contract. The Cavs and Pelicans could ultimately go the same route, though they’ll want to fully scour the buyout market in case there’s a veteran who could help in the postseason.
Cavs Notes: Mitchell, Wade, Mobley, 15th Man
When they announced on Monday that Donovan Mitchell had received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat his left knee injury, the Cavaliers ruled him out for their next three games. However, there’s no guarantee that Mitchell will be ready to return following those three games, as head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters on Tuesday before his team faced the Celtics.
“I expect him to be back before a month,” Bickerstaff said, per Tom Withers of The Associated Press. “I don’t like to overstep my bounds, but at the end of the three games, they’ll reevaluate and then we’ll make a decision from there. I’m hopeful and do not expect this to be a long break, but we will always do what’s best by our guys to make sure they’re healthy.”
The Cavaliers have referred to Mitchell’s injury as a bone bruise, but Bickerstaff suggested that it’s an issue that has developed over time and got to the point where it didn’t make sense for the star guard to play through it.
“It’s more of a wear and tear thing,” the Cavs’ coach said. “It was like a tendinitis-type thing that kind of just flared up. So it’s not something that just happened, but something that just built over time.
“… He couldn’t move going certain directions because of the pain and how it was limited. I’m not a doctor, but from everything that I’m hearing, the time, the rest and the process should get him back to full strength.”
As we noted on Monday, while Mitchell has put up All-NBA numbers in Cleveland this season, leading the team with 28.0 points and a career-best 6.2 assists per game, he’s in danger of falling short of the 65-game minimum required to qualify for end-of-season awards. After Friday, he’ll have missed 16 games this season — he can’t miss more than 17 if he hopes to be eligible for All-NBA consideration, but getting him healthy for a playoff run figures to be the priority.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- An unlikely hero led the Cavaliers past Boston in a stunning comeback win on Tuesday, as Withers writes in a separate Associated Press story. Forward Dean Wade, who has been coming off the bench since January 26 after starting earlier in the season, made five three-pointers and scored 20 points in the fourth quarter as Cleveland erased a 22-point deficit and pulled out a one-point upset victory. “The rim looked like a swimming pool,” Wade told reporters after the game.
- The good vibes in the locker room after Tuesday’s win were diminished somewhat by the fact that Evan Mobley exited the game in the third quarter due to a left ankle sprain, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. According to Fedor, Mobley was seen leaving the arena on crutches and likely won’t be available on Wednesday vs. Atlanta. It’s unclear how much more time the big man might miss beyond that.
- The Cavaliers will open up a roster spot after Wednesday’s contest when Sharife Cooper‘s 10-day contract expires. It’s unclear if the Cavs intend to sign Cooper to a second 10-day deal — he has yet to appear in an NBA game through his first nine days under contract. The club wouldn’t necessarily have to fill that open 15-man roster spot immediately.
Donovan Mitchell Treating Bone Bruise, Out At Least Next Three Games
Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on Monday to treat a left knee bone bruise that caused him to miss Cleveland’s past two games against Detroit and New York, the team announced (Twitter link).
Mitchell will be listed as out for the Cavs’ next three games, on March 5 against Boston, on March 6 at Atlanta, and March 8 versus Minnesota, according to the release.
His status will be reevaluated over the weekend and will be updated as appropriate.
Mitchell is an integral part of a strong Cavaliers team that ranks third in the Eastern Conference at 39-21. He’s averaging 28.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists while shooting 47.2% from the floor and 37.1% from three.
The All-Star guard being out for games against the top-ranked teams in the East (Boston) and West (Minnesota) obviously isn’t ideal for a club that’s just a half-game behind Milwaukee for second in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs are 3.5 games ahead of the fourth-seeded Knicks.
It’s also worth noting that Mitchell’s injury absence means he’s in danger of falling short of the 65-game minimum to qualify for postseason awards. He has missed 13 games so far this season — that number will increase to at least 16 in the coming days. Eighteen missed contests would render him ineligible for All-NBA consideration.