Dan Gilbert “thinks” Donovan Mitchell will re-sign

The Cavs’ owner feels sure that the superstar guard will remain in Cleveland.

While there are still a handful of regular season games and the playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a potential Donovan Mitchell extension hanging over the organization. But team owner Dan Gilbert feels strongly about how things will play out this summer.

Gilbert met with the Associated Press on Thursday in Detroit to discuss the city hosting the NFL Draft in 2025. While in the rare position to take questions from the media, some used it as an opportunity to ask him about Mitchell’s future. Gilbert stated that he is confident Mitchell will re-sign with the organization that traded for him back in 2022.

“We’ve been talking to him for the last couple of years about extending his contract,” Gilbert said to The Associated Press. “We think he will extend. I think if you listen to him talk, he loves the city. He loves the situation in Cleveland because our players are very young and we’re just kind of putting the core together that he’s clearly the biggest part of.”

Of course, Gilbert has never been one to shy away from questions like that, nor has he been one to exhibit much pessimism. He said back in 2010 that the Cavs would win a championship before the then recently departed LeBron James - which did not happen. While that was over a decade ago, his confidence persists.

Cleveland can offer Mitchell a four-year $200.4 million extension this upcoming summer, around $55 million more than what he could have signed this past summer. There was notable pessimism from the Cavs’ faithful when Mitchell declined to extend a few months ago, but it was a business decision to push that into 2024.

The Cavs already extended Darius Garland to a five-year $193 million deal that kicked in this season, the richest contract in team history, locking in the blossoming point guard for the long haul. Evan Mobley will be eligible for an extension as well and, if signed, would make the Cavs an awfully expensive team despite only regular-season success - so far. To make all of those pieces fit financially the Cavs may need to get creative in how they fill out the rest of the roster, even with a rising salary cap.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on NBA Today last July that the Cavs were aware of the financial implications of trading for Mitchell and anticipated him waiting to sign an extension until 2024 at the earliest. That time is coming up quickly, but it seems like no matter how the Cavs show out in the playoffs, Gilbert is confident that Mitchell will remain in Cleveland for the foreseeable future. No doubt another early-round flameout would put additional pressure on the front office to figure things out, even if Mitchell agrees to remain with the Cavs.

Optimism from Gilbert is reassuring, and he has shown a willingness to spend for a winner in the past. But whether Mitchell extends, or doesn't, it will be a critical offseason for the Cavaliers.