The Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets reportedly are among the teams that could look to trade for Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell this coming offseason.
“What would happen here, I think if Donovan chose not to extend, he would be able to kind of direct the trade a little bit,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said.
Windhorst explained that since Mitchell has just one year left on his deal (and a player option) after the 2023-24 season, the Cavs may not be able to get a premium offer.
“I just want to underscore this, because I have to deal with Cleveland. I’m not saying he’s leaving,” Windhorst said of Mitchell. “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.”
Last offseason, Miami went after guards Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday in the trade market, but it didn’t land either player. Instead, Lillard ended up with the Milwaukee Bucks and Holiday went to the Boston Celtics, which hurt the Heat since their rivals in the Eastern Conference improved their rosters.
Windhorst also mentioned the Nets and Lakers as possible teams that could look to make a move for Mitchell in the offseason.
Los Angeles is trying to build a championship contender around LeBron James and Anthony Davis with James in the latter stages of his career while Brooklyn has several assets from the Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden trades that it could use to make a deal.
Houston is a young team that nearly made the play-in tournament in the Western Conference this season, and it could look to use some of the assets it gained from Brooklyn in a previous Harden trade to bring Mitchell to Texas.
Mitchell certainly has a lot of power in terms of his fate, as he could put the Cavs in a tricky spot if he decides to play out his contract and not bite on an extension offer.
This season, Mitchell averaged 26.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from 3-point range. He has played well in the playoffs for Cleveland, but a calf strain sidelined him for Game 4 against the Boston Celtics on Monday.
Miami, which was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by Boston this season, could look to move guard Tyler Herro – or guard Terry Rozier – as a primary piece to bring Mitchell to South Beach.
The Heat have been a contender for several seasons with Jimmy Butler, but adding another All-Star like Mitchell may be what they need to win a title with his current core.