Unlike Lillard waiting game, Heat already at offseason loss with Mitchell re-upping with Cavaliers

MIAMI — Tuesday started as a bad news-good(ish) news type of day for the Miami Heat on the NBA personnel market.

The harsh reality of the moment was the reporting that Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, a player long coveted by the Heat, has agreed to a three-year, $150.3 million extension, effectively removing him from the personnel market.

For the Heat, it is yet another trade target moved beyond their grasp, a target the Heat have been linked to during Mitchell’s tenures with both the Utah Jazz and Cavaliers.

On the other hand, unlike last summer’s months-long attempt at landing former Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, a gambit that ended with Lillard instead being dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks in late September, the Heat and the rest of the league now know where things stand with Mitchell.

Mitchell has been viewed as a potential Heat target for years, dating almost all the way back to the 2017 NBA draft, when he was selected at No. 13 out of Louisville, one pick before the Heat drafted center Bam Adebayo out of Kentucky.

Two summers ago, when Mitchell’s contract situation headed sideways with the Jazz, Mitchell made appearances at the Miami Pro Summer League, playing as a teammate of Adebayo, fueling speculation.

Then, with the Cavaliers routed by the eventual champion Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs this past season, speculation increased about Mitchell again seeking a new vista ahead of his extension window.

Instead, the Cavaliers dismissed coach J.B. Bickerstaff in favor of former Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson and vowed to upgrade around Mitchell.

Mitchell effectively confirmed the extension himself, posting on social media the “I’m not leaving!” video clip of Leonardo DiCaprio from “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Mitchell’s agreement cannot be finalized until Saturday’s end of the NBA signing moratorium.

It is the second consecutive offseason the Cavaliers have impacted the Heat at the start of the NBA free-agency period, last summer signing away Heat free-agent forward Max Strus.

Last summer, the Heat practically shut down their personnel apparatus amid the hopes of landing Lillard, the veteran All-Star guard who openly stressed a desire to relocate to South Florida.

In the wake of that waiting game, as the NBA’s personnel cupboard ran bare, the Heat were reduced to the minimal 2023 offseason moves of adding minimum-scale free agents Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant on the way to a second-consecutive appearance in the NBA play-in round.

The Heat have yet to make personnel additions this offseason beyond the drafting of first-round pick Kel’el Ware, the center out of Indiana, and second-round pick Pelle Larsson, the guard out of Arizona, and re-upping with guard Dru Smith on a two-way contract.