Former NBA Champion Gives Concerning Update On Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell

A three-time NBA champion isn't so sure that Donovan Mitchell wants to play for the Cavaliers next season.

May 11, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) stands on the court in the second quarter of game three of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering an offseason full of uncertainty, and perhaps the biggest piece of the somewhat scattered puzzle is Donovan Mitchell.

Following the Cavaliers' second-round playoff exit to the Boston Celtics, there had been speculation that Mitchell may pursue for a trade from Cleveland this summer. However, the general consensus (at least recently) was that Mitchell seemed likely to sign an extension with the Cavs.

Former Miami Heat big man and three-time NBA champion Udonis Haslem thinks otherwise.

During an appearance on NBA Today, the new ESPN analyst said he isn't so sure that Mitchell is interested in returning to the Cavaliers and says he may have always had his sights set on another Eastern Conference squad.

"I don't know if he's really interested in going back to Cleveland," Haslem said. "I don't think Cleveland is his first choice. I think he might really want to get out of Cleveland. If you look back when he was traded to Cleveland, Cleveland wasn't even on his radar of teams where he wanted to go. It was New York. It was another team down south somewhere [Miami]. I ain't going to say no names. But it was other teams that he was talking about going to. Cleveland was never on the list of teams that he wanted to go to in the first place."

The question is, how does Haslem know this? Where are his sources coming from, and how come nobody else has relayed this information in recent weeks?

Maybe Cleveland wasn't Mitchell's first choice when the Cavs initially acquired him in a trade with the Utah Jazz in September 2022. But that was two years ago. It doesn't necessarily mean that Mitchell isn't interested in re-upping with the Cavaliers this offseason, especially with a hefty $208 million extension on the table.

Of course, Haslem spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Heat, so this could just be his way of trying to angle Mitchell toward South Beach.

Mitchell has just one year of team control remaining on his deal (he has a player option for 2025-26), which has prompted trade speculation.

We'll see what happens with Mitchell in the coming weeks.