Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ season ended at the hands of the Boston Celtics on May 15. They will now enter an offseason of uncertainty. If Mitchell becomes available via trade, the Miami Heat could be his next destination.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe revealed that he believes the Heat could be a viable suitor for Mitchell this coming offseason.
.@zachlowe_nba says “it’s time to freak out” in Cleveland 👀
Could this be the last we see of Donovan Mitchell in a Cavs jersey?
“Miami, to me, is the other team to watch,” Lowe said. “They’re always hunting around. They’ve been connected with Mitchell over the years. They’re lurking, and they have a lot of stuff to offer in terms of picks and young players.”
Mitchell will enter the fourth year of a five-year, $163 million contract. He will make $35.4 million for the 2024-25 season. The Heat have the contracts to match for Mitchell with players like Tyler Herro, who make up most of that contract.
Miami would also have first-round picks to offer for Mitchell. Their success, along with their appealing living situation, could be enough to convince Mitchell to extend. The Heat were linked to Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard during the 2023 offseason but failed to acquire either one of them. Mitchell would fit the same archetype, and he’s younger than them.
Brian Windhorst Also Believes Heat Want Donovan Mitchell
Zach Lowe is not the only one who believes the Heat could be Mitchell’s next team. Brian Windhorst believes the same thing while giving similar reasoning on the May 15 episode of “Get Up.”
While listing the Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and Brooklyn Nets as potential destinations for Mitchell should he not extend, he explained why the Heat might go after him.
Three teams will be “at the top of the list” of Donovan Mitchell trade suitors if he doesn’t extend in Cleveland, per @WindhorstESPN:
Lakers
Heat
Nets
Windhorst notes that Mitchell will be able to somewhat direct a trade with one year left on his contract.
“I just want to underscore this because I have to deal with Cleveland. I’m not saying he’s leaving,” Windhorst said. “The other thing I would say is the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat have been star-hunting for a year now. They’re always star hunting. They have some players on their roster, potentially be interesting to Cleveland, not as deep in draft picks, though, as the other ones.”
The last time the Heat acquired an All-Star guard was Kyle Lowry, who helped Miami reach two consecutive Eastern Conference Finals and return to the NBA Finals. Mitchell would give the Heat more scoring, which could come in handy knowing Jimmy But
Donovan Mitchell Calls Out Report on X
After the Cavaliers’ season ended, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reported Mitchell’s frustrations in Cleveland. This included that Mitchell “grew frustrated with some teammates’ lack of maturity, focus, playoff-level readiness, and a willingness to listen.”
Mitchell himself caught wind of the report and called it out as a lie, writing the following on his X account.
“Yeah aight. I’m sick of y’all sometimes,” Mitchell wrote with a cap emoji. For context, a “cap” is slang for a lie.
Though Mitchell may very well leave Cleveland this offseason, there haven’t been any rumblings that he wants to leave. The Cavaliers have some questions heading into the offseason, but it appears Mitchell hasn’t been a problem for them.
If they decide to make some major shakeups, whether that involves Mitchell or not, the Heat could potentially capitalize.
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Heat ‘Team to Watch’ as Trade Destination for $163 Million Star