Donovan Mitchell Plans to Retire With Cavaliers Unless They Trade Him

Donovan Mitchell told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com that he plans to finish his NBA career with the Cleveland Cavaliers unless they trade him. 

The Cavaliers acquired Mitchell from the Utah Jazz before the 2022-23 season. Mitchell loves Cleveland and hopes the franchise retires his No. 45 jersey one day. 

Mitchell is averaging 26.7 points per game in the regular season and 27.3 points per game in the playoffs in a Cleveland uniform. He's one of the best scorers in NBA history. 

A seven-time All-Star, Mitchell led the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. It was the first time Cleveland made the conference finals since 1992 without LeBron James.

The New York Knicks swept Mitchell and the Cavaliers in the conference finals, but Cleveland's front office remained loyal to Mitchell by giving him a huge extension. 

Mitchell signed a four-year, $273 million maximum contract extension this offseason. 

The Cavaliers begin this season against LeBron and the 76ers in Philadelphia. That will be an electric atmosphere. It would have been fun to see LeBron come home to play with Mitchell, but King James signed a two-year, $8 million deal to play with Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid in Philadelphia.  

Mitchell enters this season with career averages of 25.1 points per game in the regular season and 27.8 points per game in the playoffs with the Jazz and Cavaliers. He will likely make the Hall of Fame one day. 

This season, Mitchell will try to do what LeBron did in 2016. The 2015-16 Cavaliers won the 2016 championship against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors for the only NBA title in Cleveland franchise history. 

The Cavaliers will start James Harden, Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen this season. On paper, that's one of the best starting lineups in the NBA. 

Cleveland did a nice job of getting Watson after LeBron went to the 76ers. Watson signed a four-year, $88 million deal to join the Cavaliers via a sign-and-trade deal with the Denver Nuggets. The contract includes a player option and a trade kicker.

For the Nuggets last season, Watson averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 49.1% from the field, 41.1% from beyond the arc and 73.0% from the free-throw line. He's one of the top two-way wings in the league.

Mitchell has never been to the NBA Finals. Let's see if that changes this season.