Miami Heat’s projected blockbuster lands $163 million ‘top trade target’.
Assuming he enters the NBA trade market this summer—which is highly likely—Cavaliers player Donovan Mitchell is expected to draw a lot of attention. He is coming off a season in which he averaged 26.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.1 assists on 46.2% shooting, and he has been named an All-Star for the fifth consecutive year. That will get the Miami Heat’s attention.
Miami was eliminated from playoff contention on Wednesday by the Celtics in the first round, a year after making a stunning run to the NBA finals.
But Mitchell has never been completely satisfied in Cleveland—remember, before the Cavs traded for him in the summer of 2022, there was speculation that Mitchell would be heading to New York. He wanted a large market, and while the Cleveland Cavaliers are talented, they’ll always have to persuade him to stay until he can opt out of the final year of his five-year, $163 million contract.
That arrives in the summer of 2025. As a result, if the Cavs are certain they cannot sign Mitchell to a contract extension, they must trade him this summer. Again, expect the Miami Heat, who are expected to look for a star in the offseason, to pay notice.
Miami Heat Deals Sent Out Tyler Herro and Nikola Jovic. With the Heat currently out of the NBA playoffs, Mitchell is ranked as the top potential target for Miami to pursue this summer by Bleacher Report in a piece titled “Ranking Heat’s Top Trade Targets After 2024 NBA Playoff Loss.”