Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell took to X (formerly known as Twitter) after agreeing to a three-year contract extension with the team worth $150.3 million.
#LetEmKnow @cavs pic.twitter.com/QU1re4zn0G
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) July 2, 2024
“I’m glad I got this shit done Cleveland,”- Donovan Mitchell speaks on his contract extension with the Cavs 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/8M3MFtiBaN
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 2, 2024
Mitchell inked an extension to remain in Cleveland just a day after Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said the 27-year-old is “very, very much pro-Cleveland.”
“He’s really invested in what we’re doing,” Altman said when speaking on how things are with Mitchell. “And hopefully soon we’ll have more of a decisive answer on that for you, but he’s been great. He’s been super involved and super collaborative and very, very much pro-Cleveland.”
In light of the two sides coming to an agreement on a deal, Mitchell is now under contract with the Cavaliers for quite a long time. His first real opportunity to hit free agency won’t come until after the 2026-27 season, as he has a player option on his deal for the 2027-28 campaign.
Mitchell is also set to be paid just over $50 million per year on average for the duration of his new contract.
The Cavaliers decided to pay Mitchell handsomely after the guard helped Cleveland return to its winning ways over the last two seasons. Prior to Mitchell’s arrival in Cleveland, the Cavaliers went through a stretch where they missed out on the playoffs in four straight seasons.
But the Cavaliers have reached the playoffs in each of Mitchell’s two seasons with the team. Plus, Cleveland advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first team since LeBron James was on the squad after the Cavaliers eliminated the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Cleveland has also been one of the top teams in its conference during the regular season ever since Mitchell joined the Cavaliers. In Mitchell’s maiden season in Cleveland, the 2022-23 campaign, the team finished with a 51-31 regular-season record. Fast forward to the 2023-24 regular season, and Cleveland won 48 of its 82 contests, which was good enough for the team to finish as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Cavaliers fans should breathe a major sigh of relief after catching wind of the news that Mitchell signed an extension to stay in Cleveland, and hopefully the former University of Louisville star will help the team improve upon its 2023-24 season when the 2024-25 campaign rolls around.
