Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this summer, but he didn’t put pen to paper without first making some demands.
Apparently Mitchell told the Cavaliers to keep Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, by Ashish Mathur of Hoops Wire.
Mitchell’s affinity for Allen was revealed earlier this offseason, when rumors swirled that he was urging Cleveland to keep Allen.
However, Mitchell’s desire for the Cavs to retain Garland as well is a bit more surprising.
The Cavaliers’ second-round elimination from the playoffs last spring sparked speculation that Cleveland could finally break up the Mitchell-Garland backcourt pairing, especially after Garland takes a significant step back during the 2023-24 campaign.
There were also rumors that Garland himself might have wanted to step down, but he quashed those trade rumors.
Multiple teams expressed interest in a trade for Garland this offseason, but the Cavs rebuffed those advances. They made the same thing for Allen before finally signing the big man to a three-year contract extension last month.
It’s no wonder Mitchell has so much influence with the Cavaliers’ management. He’s their franchise player, and they traded a wealth of assets to acquire him from the Utah Jazz in September 2022.
Mitchell clearly feels comfortable returning to the same core. Cleveland not only re-signed Mitchell and Allen, but also extended Evan Mobley. Meanwhile, Garland re-signed with the Cavs two years ago.
We’ll see if the Cavaliers can make progress next season.
