Koby Altman explained why Donovan Mitchell signed a four-year extension instead of waiting for a potential five-year supermax worth roughly $80 million more.
Donovan Mitchell agreed to a four-year, $273 million maximum contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 7, the first day Cleveland was allowed to offer it. He still had two seasons left on his previous deal.
Waiting one more summer would have made Mitchell eligible for a five-year supermax. ESPN's Bobby Marks put the difference at one extra season and roughly $80 million, or five years and $353 million in total.
Mitchell passed on that money partly to help Cleveland recruit, Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said Friday at the team's start-of-season press conference alongside head coach Kenny Atkinson.
"He's been all in since we got him," Altman said. "He also wanted to send a message to the marketplace that I'm going to be here. Send a message to you guys, quite frankly, like enough of the questions of my loyalty and wanting to be in Cleveland. And also send a message to, if this helps us recruit, if this helps us get more players, I want to sign now to let everyone know I'm here and give us more of a runway. That was his thought process."
"But culturally, he's such an impactful person for our team and in this region," Altman continued. "He sets up minicamps during the summer where everyone can get together, and it's also been for him personally a monumental offseason for him, getting married, really having his feet down somewhere that he's going to be for a long time. And so it all just made sense for him. Let me just make sure we have this set. I know where I'm going to be and it's going to help the organization plan multi-years into the future."
Mitchell's Extension Set NBA Salary Record
The Cavaliers announced the signing on July 9. According to The Associated Press, the deal carries a player option worth about $76 million for 2030-31 and a full trade kicker.
Its average annual value of just over $68 million was an NBA record at the time of the signing. It narrowly passed the $67.9 million average on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mitchell will make $60.1 million in 2027-28, the first season of the extension. His salary rises to $65.8 million in 2028-29 and $70.6 million in 2029-30 before reaching $75.5 million in the option year.
Mitchell Has Embraced Leadership Role in Cleveland
On Aug. 1, Mitchell married singer Coco Jones. In an interview with Cavaliers sideline host Serena Winters after his introductory press conference, Peyton Watson said Mitchell took the initiative to get to know him and invited him to nearly everything he did over the last month of the offseason.
Cleveland acquired Mitchell from the Utah Jazz in 2022. Over four seasons with the Cavaliers, he has averaged 26.7 points and made the All-Star team every year.
Last season, Mitchell earned second-team All-NBA honors for the second time in Cleveland. He was named to the first team in 2025.
The Cavaliers went 52-30 and beat the Toronto Raptors and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons, both in seven games, to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. The New York Knicks swept them there.
On May 29, four days after Game 4 of that series, Altman told reporters there were players on the roster who would not be in Cleveland without Mitchell, according to the AP.
Cavaliers Hope to Retire Mitchell's No. 45
Mitchell wears No. 45, and Altman said Friday the franchise eventually hopes to see that jersey hanging from the rafters.
"It means the world," Altman explained. "We trade for him and make the playoffs right away. We break out as an organization, add good young talent, and make good decisions, with some mess-ups along the way. When you go through a rebuild, you're not going to hit 1,000%, but you add him and immediately become a must-see, primetime-level team."
"He's grown with us and had a breakthrough year getting to the conference finals for the first time in his career," Altman added. "Seeing him become an MVP-caliber player and have the best years of his career with us is gratifying. His embrace of this organization and city has been second to none. Eventually we hope to have his jersey hanging from the rafters, but he has a lot of basketball left."
"He's hungry for more, and we're going to keep supporting that," Altman noted. "His selflessness as a teammate, orchestrating offseason workouts and getting guys around him, and his leadership have been phenomenal. It's a partnership, and he's been a tremendous partner for us. We're not here without him."
Mitchell Enters Season With High Expectations
Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes projected Mitchell to finish 10th in the NBA in scoring this season. Mitchell averaged 27.9 points last season and has topped 24 points per game every season since 2019-20.
Mitchell and the Cavaliers hold media day Monday before leaving for training camp in Spain. Cleveland opens the regular season Oct. 22 at the Philadelphia 76ers, then hosts the Brooklyn Nets in its home opener Oct. 24.
