The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to have every intention of bringing back James Harden and Donovan Mitchell this summer.
Harden, who has a player option that he’s expected to exercise this offseason, has already said he ‘100%’ plans on returning to Cleveland.
Meanwhile, Mitchell’s player option isn’t until next season. The Cavs can extend Mitchell long-term this summer and run no risk of losing him unless he demands a trade. President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman suggested that no such trade request
is on the horizon.
“All I can tell you is Donovan has been steadfast in how much he loves it here,” said Altman. “There hasn’t been any question of will he be here or does he want to be here; I think the bigger question, is the one that’s been answered, is does he want to be here and does he want to be here long term, and I think he’s answered that.”
Mitchel has led the Cavs to the playoffs in four consecutive seasons and has been on multiple All-NBA teams since arriving in Cleveland. There are valid concerns about his viability as a No. 1 option on a title team — but Altman isn’t openly sharing any of them.
“Yes,” Altman replied when asked if Mitchell can be the best player on a championship team. “And we’re going to keep pouring into that.”
Altman also reinforced his belief in Harden, stating that the Cavs didn’t trade for ‘MVP Harden’ but rather a complementary player who can stabilize them moving forward.
“He helped regalvanize the group; we were kinda shaky there… when he came on board, he gave us a real belief and swagger,” said Koby Altman. “We traded for him and shot out of the gate 5-0, with some real inspiring confidence; we’re not in the Conference Finals without James.”
The plan, for now, appears to be having both guards back with a full offseason and training camp together to figure things out. That might frustrate some fans, but it falls in line with the patient approach that Altman has taken in previous years.
