Cavs Treating Donovan Mitchell Like LeBron is a Huge Mistake

Donovan Mitchell is the best player the Cleveland Cavaliers had since LeBron James left in 2018. He is an excellent scorer and one of the best shooting guards in the league. He had two straight All-Star seasons for the Cavs ever since his acquisition in the summer of 2022. Cleveland needs to make re-signing him a priority.

However, according to the latest reports, they are going too far. Brian Windhorst of ESPN just reported that the Cavs are making their coaching decision to accommodate Donovan Mitchell. That is a big mistake.

Cavs About to Make a Big Donovan Mitchell Mistake

Hiring a head coach that Mitchell approves of would certainly make it easier to re-sign him. It may even be a prerequisite on Mitchell's end. However, the 27-year-old shooting guard is just not good enough to warrant that kind of commitment.

During LeBron James's tenure in Cleveland, the Cavs gave a ton of decision-making power to him. That made sense. He was the best player in the NBA and had a chance to lead the organization to a championship.

As good as Mitchell is, he is nowhere near that level. He has made an All-NBA team once in his career and probably isn't one of the ten best players in the league. If this was Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, or Luka Doncic, this would be understandable for the Cavs. However, with Mitchell as your best player, the second round of the playoffs seems like your ceiling.

Plus, there is no guarantee that Mitchell will stay in Cleveland even if he were to sign an extension. How can the Cavs be sure that Mitchell is not going to request a trade if they flame out in the playoffs again next season?

Cavs fans should be glad to see the organization aggressive about keeping Mitchell. But there has to be a limit to how deferential they are willing to be.

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