The Cleveland Cavaliers are clearly committed to Donovan Mitchell for the long run. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone all-in to make a win-now move, especially since he has yet to sign another contract extension.
Mitchell was reportedly more than on board with the James Harden trade. In fact, he reportedly pushed for it, given that they're both Adidas athletes and had already worked out and gotten to know one another.
However, this might've been a short-sighted move by Mitchell and the Cavs. At least, that's how NBA analyst Tim McMahon feels. In the latest edition of The Hoop Collective, he wondered whether Mitchell actually thought this one through.
Donovan Mitchell has some thinking to do ahead of his contract extension
"Donovan is obviously happy with it," McMahon said. "If he's happy enough to the point where he extends (his contract), then that's the whole purpose of this. ... But like, James is going to be in his late 30s, and so you're extending to play with who?"
Even Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman admitted that this was a risky move. He praised Garland and claimed that he might look like a fool a couple of years from now for making this trade.
Then again, there's no denying that this move raises the Cavs' ceiling. Even Mitchell may have taken an unintentional jab at Garland by admitting their championship chances got a massive boost with Harden on the team.
Still, it's not like Harden has a ton of postseason success. He also carries a massive weight of playoff failure on his shoulders, and trading a 26-year-old for a player who's 10 years older may not be the wisest decision.
The Cavs clearly believe that the Eastern Conference is as open as it'll ever be. They must love their chances to make a deep postseason run with this core and, other than previous failure, there's no reason to believe that won't be the case.
If things don't work out, moving on from Garland at least gives this team a chance to pull the plug and hit the reset button a little earlier. That's why there's so much at stake for Mitchell this season and the next one. He can't keep wasting his prime years, and this playoff run may dictate his future with the organization.