The Impact of Donovan Mitchell’s Extension on the Houston Rockets

Earlier this week, the Cleveland Cavaliers and All-Star point guard Donovan Mitchell agreed to a three-year contract extension, worth up to $150.3 million, that will keep Mitchell in Cleveland until the end of his physical career. The contract includes a player option for the 2027-28 season. The deal ends months of speculation that saw many teams around the league monitor Mitchell’s future status.

Mitchell was, of course, acquired from the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline two years ago. Since then, the Cavaliers have made back-to-back playoff appearances, also advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

One team that was interested in Mitchell was the Houston Rockets, a team on the rise after entering Phase 2 of its rebuild. After signing veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks in free agency and watching their young prospects progress, the Rockets ultimately won 41 games. But third-year point guard Jalen Green, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, largely underwhelmed last season through March. As the trade deadline approached, Houston weighed the merits of an upgrade, with Mitchell being a possibility.

The Rockets had previously been armed with future pick obligations owed by the Brooklyn Nets through 2027, following the blockbuster 2021 trade that sent James Harden to Brooklyn. The Rockets were thought to be dangling some combination of those picks in pursuit of Mitchell. Before draft night, as part of a larger trade that sent Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn to the New York Knicks, Houston surrendered picks due in 2025 and 2026 in exchange for control of the Phoenix Suns’ long-shot draft capital. In another twist, the Brooklyn Nets were also in pursuit of Mitchell. A successful acquisition would have further devalued the Brooklyn picks Houston owned.

With Mitchell out of the picture, the Rockets are staying the course. They’ve been linked to other names like Devin Booker and Zion Williamson, but neither player appears to be available anytime soon. The Rockets can free up a ton of cap space next offseason if they sign away several potential free agents, including VanVleet, who has a team option on his contract.

The Rockets used the third pick in last month’s draft, transferred from Brooklyn in the aforementioned Harden trade, to select Kentucky sharpshooter Reed Sheppard. They’re hoping Green can build on his momentum from March, when he won Western Conference Player of the Month honors. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone has assembled an impressive core of young talent through the use of high lottery picks in successive drafts. Now the Rockets need a top-tier player to take the next step. Can that come from within? An outside option, Mitchell, is no longer available.