Donovan Mitchell Rips Rumors of Issues with Cavs Teammates: 'Sick of Yall Sometimes'
May 16, 2024
Donovan Mitchell is pushing back against reports he was frustrated by some of his Cleveland Cavaliers' teammates this season.
The five-time All-Star wrote on X he's "sick of yall sometimes" in response to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor reporting on Friday he "grew frustrated with some teammates' lack of maturity, focus, playoff-level readiness and a willingness to listen."
In the immediate aftermath of Cleveland's season-ending loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night, stories about the organization's future came out.
Much of the focus is going to be on what happens with Mitchell this summer. He's eligible to sign a four-year, $208 million extension with the Cavs starting July 6, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.
Per The Athletic's Shams Charania, Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd, there is a "growing sentiment" around the NBA that Cleveland will be able to position itself to get a long-term commitment from Mitchell.
The report also noted head coach J.B. Bickerstaff's job is "in serious jeopardy" following the loss to the Celtics, but the organization will take multiple days to make a decision about his future.
Even though Mitchell is under contract through next season with a player option for 2025-26, the Cavs presumably need an answer one way or another about his contract this offseason to maximize a potential trade return and avoid the risk of losing him next summer for nothing.
There are going to be many other roster questions not involving Mitchell for Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman to figure out.
Darius Garland, who signed a rookie max extension in July 2022, took a step back this season with his fewest points per game (18.0) since 2020-21, worst field-goal percentage (44.6) and three-point percentage (37.1) since his rookie year in 2019-20.
The Athletic's report notes Garland's camp would discuss a potential trade if Mitchell signs an extension with Cleveland, and "rival executives believe the Cavs will have to seriously evaluate the fit of Mitchell and Garland and ultimately may have to choose one or the other."
This season was messy for the Cavaliers, though some of that could be attributed to injuries. Mitchell, Garland and Evan Mobley all missed at least 25 games during the regular season. Mitchell sat out the final two games against the Celtics due to a strained calf.
Jarrett Allen was unable to play after Game 4 in the first round against the Orlando Magic due to a rib injury.
Despite those injury woes, the Cavaliers were able to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference for the second straight season. They won a playoff series for the first time since LeBron James' final year with the club in 2017-18.
