Donovan Mitchell Trade Rumors: Rockets Interested in Cravs Star amid Lakers Buzz
As the Cleveland Cavaliers do their best to present Donovan Mitchell with a contract offer they hope he can’t refuse this summer, the Houston Rockets are among the teams that could pursue him in a trade.
Per The Athletic’s Kelly Iko, the Rockets “have been monitoring” Mitchell’s situation for months and they could try to package the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NBA draft with other assets to put together an offer if the Cavs don’t feel like they will be able to re-sign him.
Houston’s interest in Mitchell comes after The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reported on his YouTube show (starts at 38:40 mark) last week the five-time All-Star “would be the preferred guy” ahead of players like Trae Young or Dejounte Murray in a deal for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mitchell’s future with the Cavs has been hovering over the franchise all season, and that will only get more pronounced this offseason. He is eligible to sign a four-year, $208 million extension as of July 6.
If the Cavaliers don’t get a commitment from Mitchell at that point, it would be in their best interest to explore trade opportunities. He declined to speak publicly about his contract throughout the season.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on the May 16 episode of NBA Countdown (h/t RealGM) that Mitchell told him he’s “happy in Cleveland” and has been happy there since being acquired by the club in September 2022.
In the wake of Cleveland’s season-ending loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd reported there is a “growing sentiment” around the NBA that Mitchell will sign the extension to stay with the Cavs.
Within that same report, it’s noted Darius Garland’s representatives “would have a conversation” with Cavs officials about potentially finding him a new team if Mitchell elects to stay.
The Rockets are a team that will likely be keeping a close eye on anyone who might be able to help their offense. They spent a lot of money last offseason to sign Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet. It helped spark them to a 41-41 record, but they missed the play-in tournament by five games.