Donovan Mitchell Joining The Miami Heat Becoming Less Of A Reality?

Shandel Richardson | May 26, 2024

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat may want to rethink their pursuit of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.

According to Cavs president Koby Altman, Mitchell appears happy remaining in Cleveland. Altman spoke with reporters last week in his postseason press conference.

He said Mitchell intends to remain with the Cavs.

"This is a player that has had two of the best years of his career here, has had a lot of success here, understands the infrastructure," Altman said. "I think he has a lot of trust in what we're doing and understands that our goal is to win a championship."

The Heat have been linked with Mitchell for the past three years. They made a strong pitch in the summer of 2022 before he was traded from the Utah Jazz to the Cavs. The Heat believe they have an inside track on signing Mitchell because of his friendship with center Bam Adebayo.

They both work out together in Miami during the offseason. But Altman said he was confident in Mitchell remaining in Cleveland after their postseason meeting. The Cavs were recently eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Celtics.

"From his own words, he says he's happy here," Altman said. "He likes it here. And so he's always been very genuine. He's always been very intentional. He's been a great teammate. We have to take all that at face value and say, OK, we feel good about where we are with Donovan. Obviously, things could change."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com