Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell recently shared a positive message about his feelings with the Cavs, according to Cavs insider Chris Fedor.
Fedor explained what he heard from Mitchell in the Cavs locker room, shortly after the New York Knicks traded young guard Quentin Grimes to the Detroit Pistons as a part of a package that landed the team Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.
“In the locker room in Brooklyn, Donovan was having conversations with a few different people,” Fedor said. “And I overheard him saying — something along the lines of, ‘Guess I’m not good enough to be traded for Quentin Grimes.’”
There is a lot of backstory here with Mitchell and Grimes, who have been linked in trade rumors before.
Back before Mitchell was traded to Cleveland, the Knicks had been rumored to be in the market for the star guard. However, the team refused to move Grimes to the Utah Jazz in any deal for Mitchell, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod.
Fedor went on to share more of what Mitchell said, which was picked up by himself and potentially other reporters in the locker room.
“And then Donovan said, underneath his breath, but loud enough for some people close enough to him to hear him, he said, ‘Everything happens for a reason. I’m happy as hell where I’m at,’” Fedor said. “Now, he might have known that I was within earshot and other reporters were within earshot, and it might have been a calculated thing. But again, the evidence points to Donovan Mitchell being very, very happy. And there isn’t a day where he’s with the Cavs where he’s sitting there saying, ‘Man, I wish I was with the Knicks.’”
Cavs fans have to love this news, as it’s a positive sign for the team’s chances of keeping Mitchell for the long haul.
Mitchell is under contract through the 2024-25 season, and he has a player option for the 2025-26 season. There is a chance he could opt out of that player option following the 2024-25 season to become an unrestricted free agent.
Recently, it was reported that one NBA executive believes there is “no doubt” that Mitchell will be leaving the Cavs when his contract is up. For Cleveland, a sign that Mitchell might be thinking of leaving could come as early as the offseason, as he could refuse to extend his contract with the franchise.
Still, the fact that Mitchell is willingly saying he’s happy in Cleveland is a good sign – especially with the Cavs thriving this season.
An All-NBA selection last season, Mitchell has led the Cavs to a 36-17 record at the NBA’s All-Star break, good for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Mitchell is playing at a high level, averaging 28.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from beyond the arc.
For now, the Cavs need to focus on this season, but if the team keeps playing well and Mitchell remains happy, he may consider staying with the franchise beyond his current deal.
