Donovan Mitchell Rumors: Lakers, Nets Among NBA Teams 'Ready' with Trade Offers

The Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are among the teams that "have their offers ready" for Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, Brian Windhorst said on ESPN's Get Up.

"I'm trying to walk the line, because I don't want anybody to freak out in my hometown of Cleveland, but there a number of teams that have their offers ready. They're ready," Windhorst said.

Those teams "absolutely" include the Lakers, Windhorst said.

When asked about the Knicks, Windhorst answered, "The Knicks are trying to win this Eastern Conference series, but certainly across the river there in Brooklyn."

The Cavaliers are still in the playoffs but need a win Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics to extend their postseason.

They may have to do so without Mitchell, who missed Game 4 and is now questionable for the elimination game with a strained left calf.

Prior to the injury, Mitchell was putting up 29.6 points per game, giving him the team postseason scoring lead by an average of 12.6 points.

Mitchell has one more season remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $35.4 million, with a player option for $37 million through the 2025-26 season, per Spotrac. Cavaliers governor Dan Gilbert said in March he believes the All-Star guard will extend this deal and stay in Cleveland, per Larry Lage of the Associated Press.

If the expiring status of Mitchell's contract drives the Cavaliers to seek a trade, however, the Lakers and Nets are both in need of a star player this offseason.

Los Angeles is looking for a third star to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis after the two stars ran into disappointing postseason results for the fourth straight year. Mitchell, who has attempted at least nine shots from deep per game in each of the last three seasons, could provide a boost for a team that ranked bottom three in three-pointers last season.

The Nets should have had a top draft selection after missing the playoffs, but had to hand over the No. 3 pick to the Houston Rockets as part of the conditions of the 2021 James Harden trade. Now Brooklyn will need to turn to free agency or the trade market to begin rebuilding this offseason.

The Knicks, meanwhile, were one of the teams trying to trade with the Utah Jazz to acquire Mitchell in 2022 before being outbid by the Cavaliers. If they're still interested in acquiring the Cavaliers star, the pursuit will have to wait until after their playoff run, in which the team is leading 3-2 in a conference semifinals series against the Indiana Pacers.

Although he was sidelined for a large stretch of the latter half of the season with a knee injury, Mitchell earned his fifth consecutive All-Star after averaging 26.6 points and 6.1 assists per game during the regular season. He will likely remain a game-changing playmaker for whichever team he plays for during his age-28 season.