DONEdeal: Miami Heat’s has signed a $150 million USD star from cleveland
The Miami Heat have been most frequently associated with one possible star acquisition since the end of the NBA regular season, and in fact, for the majority of the previous year. This is because the team is trying to turn things around after last year’s disappointing and injury-plagued season ended with a five-game drubbing by the Boston Celtics. It was Donovan Mitchell, the player.
Pat Riley may be the one to figure out a way to get Mitchell to South Beach, maybe.
Unfortunately, no. Instead, Mitchell was put out of the Heat’s reach when he inked a three-year contract extension with the Cavaliers on Tuesday. The deal included a player option for the third year. When it comes to bringing in another star player during the offseason, Miami is presently at a loss for what to do.
The fact that the Heat are exchanging points while the rest of the Eastern Conference appears to be getting better makes that truth a little more concerning. The Knicks signed talented wing Mikal Bridges, the Magic added Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Sixers added Paul George—possibly the most significant addition of the summer—and the Cavaliers will retain Mitchell. The Celtics will also be back to full strength.
Despite winning 46 games in the previous season, the Heat finished ninth in the East and qualified for the playoffs only by splitting their play-in games.
A “Long Shot” Would Have Been the Miami Heat Trade
If Mitchell had been listed, the Heat would have been in a strong position to make a serious offer. However, it became evident at the end of the season that Cleveland had cause for optimism over Mitchell’s retention as the Cavs prevailed in their first-round playoff series before falling to the Celtics in the second round.
Could a deal centered around Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic, and a pair of first-round picks have persuaded the Cavaliers to deal Mitchell? Perhaps. But for now, we’ll never know.
According to the Miami Herald, it was difficult to pull together a trade for a player of Mitchell’s caliber and pay because of the Heat’s salary-cap predicament.
As a team on pace to finish above the first round, the Miami Heat is subject to a number of trading restrictions, including the inability to use a preexisting trade exception, acquire a player through a sign-and-trade, and take back more money in a deal than it sends out. Moreover, the Heat would be hard capped at the second apron if wages were combined in a deal. For the time being, the Mitchell to the Heat dream is dead.
Donovan Mitchell Acquires $150,000
Five-time All-Star Mitchell consented to a maximum contract extension for $150 million spread over three years.
In a tweet on Twitter/X, Mitchell himself verified the agreement. He shared a picture of himself on the court in a Cavaliers uniform during Cleveland and Orlando’s first-round series, along with a GIF from the film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” in which Leonardo DiCaprio’s character exclaims, “I’m not leaving!”
This is encouraging news for the Cavaliers, who have experienced some nervous moments since acquiring Mitchell from the Jazz in 2019. The franchise acquired Mitchell in exchange for three first-round picks, two pick swaps, Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, and Ochai Agbaji, with the intention of surrounding him with a championship-caliber squad.
But the news isn’t all that good for the Miami Heat. In actuality, Mitchell was the team’s ideal star player. However, similar to the previous year and the fruitless speculation around Damian Lillard, it seems the Heat will have another relatively quiet NBA offseason.
