Donovan Mitchell Named Most Likely Cavaliers' Player To Be Traded

If the Cleveland Cavaliers trade away a player this offseason, Donovan Mitchell is the leading candidate.

May 11, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates after making a three-point basket against the Boston Celtics in the first quarter of game three of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to be one of the more intriguing teams to keep an eye on this offseason. Donovan Mitchell appears likely to stick with the team on a long-term extension, but there is no guarantee of that actually happening.

While the expectation is that the Cavaliers should be able to get a new deal done with their star shooting guard, things can change quickly in the NBA.

Reports have also come out that Cleveland would prefer to not trade any player within their core. Despite that report, the Cavaliers could see things change and be forced to alter their course of action.

Recently, King James Gospel took a look at the five most likely players that Cleveland could trade. Mitchell came in at No. 1 on the list.

"There is growing optimism about Mitchell signing an extension and staying in Cleveland long-term, but things can change fast. The Mavericks were confident they would keep Jalen Brunson in 2022 until he bolted for New York in free agency. Things often don’t get messy until just before the breakup. Nobody knows if Mitchell will sign a long-term deal or decide to take his talents elsewhere."

Mitchell is coming off of a massive season with the Cavaliers.

In the 55 games that he played during the regular season, the 27-year-old superstar averaged 26.6 points per game to go along with 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds. He shot 47.2 percent from the floor overall and knocked down 36.8 percent of his three-point attempts.

Ideally, he'll be back and will lead the franchise towards NBA Finals contention for years to come. But, if he does end up changing his mind and wanting out, Cleveland should be able to get a lot of value in return.

All of that being said, the NBA offseason is going to be a wild one. There are quite a few players who could be traded and quite a few teams who will aggressively be looking to make trades.

The Cavaliers hope to be looking to add talent to their roster around Mitchell and their core. That seems the most likely scenario.

However, until Mitchell puts pen to paper, no one should be looking at him staying as a done deal.