The Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics in five games on Wednesday, and almost immediately the attention turned to Donovan Mitchell and his future with the Cavaliers next season. He's owed $35.4 million next season and has a player option for the 2025-26 season, and at 28 years old, he's an attractive trade target for contending teams around the league.
There was also a recent report suggesting that Mitchell "grew frustrated with some teammates' lack of maturity, focus, playoff-level readiness, and a willingness to listen," per Cleveland.com, hinting that perhaps his days as a member of the Cavs were numbered. But Mitchell took to social media on Thursday to deflate those rumors, posting "Yeah aight [cap] I'm sick of y'all sometimes!," on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Yeah aight 🧢 I’m sick of yall sometimes! https://t.co/B7zdP8APDk
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) May 16, 2024
Mitchell has stayed away from commenting on his future, though it has been rumored since he was traded to the Cavaliers that he would eventually look to play elsewhere, with the New York Knicks as the team most attached to him. But it was recently reported that there's a "growing sentiment" that Cleveland is in a good position to retain Mitchell not just through his current deal, but could agree to an extension with the star guard. That, coupled with Mitchell's social media post should serve as a positive sign for the Cavs, however, we've seen countless times that things can change in an instant.
And if the Cavaliers are only as good as a second-round playoff exit, Mitchell will surely look elsewhere to try and accomplish his goal of winning an NBA title. There's already been a report suggesting that head coach JB Bickerstaff's job is in danger, as Mitchell didn't have a great deal of confidence in him, and as we just saw in Phoenix, if the star players aren't on board, a coach can lose their job quickly regardless of how many years into their contract they are.
Although Mitchell is negating the reports out there suggesting he was frustrated by teammates, that doesn't mean he'll stay in Cleveland. But from the sounds of everything coming out of the rumor mill lately, it appears as though some changes could be on the way for the Cavaliers this summer. Whether that means Mitchell being moved remains to be seen, but at the very least, the Cavs may be looking for a new head coach and trying to improve the roster around Mitchell to try and get this team over the hump and better compete with squads like the Celtics and Knicks.
