Could Donovan Mitchell Even Handle the Bright Lights of New York City?

The Brooklyn Nets have their offer ready for Donovan Mitchell.

It's written in the cards for Donovan Mitchell to gamble on taking a leap in his career. Just like the Dallas Mavericks, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost in 5 games to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals this year. He has one more year left on his contract with the Cavaliers and they are "optimistic" in offering a contract extension to the guard as ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported in May.

The timing of the news that the Brooklyn Nets have their offer ready for Mitchell during the Eastern Conference Semifinals was telling of how the Cavaliers guard may navigate his decision on where his next contract will be.

.@WindhorstESPN on Donovan Mitchell:

"Multiple teams would love to make a huge offer to the Cavs if he doesn't extend... Teams that have their offers ready."

When asked about the Knicks:

"They're trying to win this playoff series, but certainly across the river in Brooklyn." pic.twitter.com/feHD3TAi2V

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) May 15, 2024

The most convincing factor to fall through on getting Mitchell to Brooklyn other than the iconic bright lights of New York City is who could keep up with him as the second-best scorer on his team. Dallas just showed that with a backcourt capable of scoring in bunches in the form of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, it can lead to more success versus Western Conference teams if he gets to the NBA Finals from the East.

In fact, that recipe was almost enough to get Mitchell's current team a 50-win campaign last season with Darius Garland as his running mate in the backcourt. For the playoffs, Garland averaged 15.7 points, 5.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds. With that being said, the most convincing factor to lure Mitchell to the Nets could be a younger running mate in Cam Thomas.

Thomas put up more points than Garland last season with 22.5 points per game to Garland's 18 points per game. The idea of playing alongside the Nets guard in a big market like Brooklyn may be something Mitchell would want to entertain if he chooses to depart from Cleveland next season.

Although it was revealed earlier today that the Cavaliers will not trade Jarrett Allen because Mitchell wants him to stay, if a Pascal Siakam situation from last year happens next season where the Cavaliers start the season badly and decide to build around their more youthful players like the Toronto Raptors, a trade out of Cleveland is possible.

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