Don’t delete the photoshop of NBA star Donovan Mitchell in a Knicks or Nets jersey just yet.
A day after Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert expressed optimism that Mitchell would eventually sign a contract extension and remain in Cleveland for years to come, Mitchell was given a chance to double down on his future. When asked, I deflected the question.
“The biggest thing for me, as I said to you all, is…my focus is that I have a lot of other things to focus on.” [contract negotiation] It’s now,” Mitchell said Friday night after returning from a six-game absence to lead the team to a win over the 76ers. “I have to focus on myself, get back to this group, get through this and continue to be ready when the time comes.
“So, I’ll take care of you then. And I understand that you have to ask that question. And I’ll give you the same answer.”
Mitchell is under contract through the 2025-26 season, but will be eligible for a four-year contract extension worth about $200 million after this season.
The New York native is in the middle of his second season with the Cavaliers, who traded him to the Jazz after months of speculation that he would eventually return to his hometown. Obtained.
“Certainly we’ve been talking to him about this contract extension for the last few years,” Gilbert told The Associated Press on Thursday. “We think he will extend it. Listening to him, I think he loves this city.
“He likes the situation in Cleveland because our players are very young and we’re just putting together a core where he’s obviously the biggest part.”
The Cavaliers and Gilbert were hurt by local star LeBron James leaving as a free agent twice and Kyrie Irving forcing a trade, but James and Irving teamed up in 2016 and were part of Cleveland’s Big Four team. It ended a 52-year championship drought in the sport.
Mitchell’s teammate Georges Niang also previously said he expected Mitchell to remain with the Cavaliers.
“I thought Georges said he was going to the Mets,” Mitchell reportedly joked.
Mitchell’s father, Donovan Sr., is a front office executive for the Mets.
The Knicks defeated Mitchell’s Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs last year, and the two teams have been battling for the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed all season.
