The Los Angeles Lakers have been named as a potential landing spot for Cleveland Cavaliers‘ five-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell could be the next star to become available as early as this summer, according to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus.
“The buzz in NBA circles suggests that barring a run to the NBA Finals, Mitchell will decline an extension and look elsewhere, and the Cavaliers are more likely than not to move him well before he can leave outright as a free agent,” Pincus wrote on April 5.
Mitchell’s response to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s confidence that his star player would sign an extension this summer only added more fuel to the fire.
“I got a lot of things to focus on outside of that right now,” Mitchell told reporters on March 30. “So, I’ll handle that when it comes.”
According to Pincus, the Cavaliers star “is all but certain to decline his $37.1 million player option for the 2025-26 season to explore unrestricted free agency next July.”
In January, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that the Lakers had discussions about trading for Mitchell if he becomes available.
“The Lakers have discussed internally the possibility of packaging three picks, along with players they already have on their books, to pursue a bona fide star, such as Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers or Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, team sources told ESPN,” McMenamin wrote on January 23.
Lakers’ Potential Trade Package
The Lakers will have three first-round picks available after the NBA Draft in June, which is the major driving force for why they stayed put at the trade deadline.
“We didn’t want to shoot a small bullet now that would only lead to very marginal improvement at the expense of making a much bigger and more impactful movement potentially in June and July,” Lakers general manager and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka told reporters via Lakers Nation after the February 8 trade deadline.
The Lakers can sweeten the pot with up to five second-round picks.
“In terms of outgoing players, the Lakers can reach Mitchell’s salary with D’Angelo Russell (if he picks up his $18.7 million player option) and Rui Hachimura. Other combinations could include players like Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt, along with lower-paid players like Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish. To be dealt, the last three would have to pick up their respective player options,” Pincus wrote.
How Lakers Stack Up Against Other Potential Bidders
If Mitchell becomes available, plenty of teams will crowd the Lakers.
The Houston Rockets could build a deal around Jalen Green and the Brooklyn Nets’ fully unprotected first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, swap rights with the Nets in 2025 and 2027, and all of their own first-rounders from 202 through 2031, according to Pincus.
Mitchell’s hometown team, the New York Knicks are flushed with draft capital — their own first-rounders until 2031 along with future firsts from the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons (heavily protected), Washington Wizards (protected) and Milwaukee Bucks (lightly protected).
Pincus suggests that the Brooklyn Nets could also be a strong contender to recruit Mitchell due to their potential draft picks in the coming years.
The Lakers might not have enough draft picks to compete, but they do have his childhood hero. LeBron James, a talented superstar big man in Anthony Davis and the appeal of playing for the Lakers to entice Mitchell to join them in Hollywood.
