Donovan Mitchell, Cavs playoff hopes and future all intertwined in playoffs vs. Magic

INDEPENDENCE — Welcome to the Donovan Mitchell playoffs.

Welcome to the crossroads of an entire franchise, to the future of a coach being held in limbo and possibly dependent on what happens over the next few weeks, to a star's search for redemption and potentially his last run in Cleveland before causing a seismic shift in the Eastern Conference landscape.

Ever since the Cavaliers walked off the floor while the New York Knicks celebrated at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse a year ago, this has been the redemption moment — the "prove you can do it" moment — for which the Cavs have waited. But everything they hope to accomplish now, and every plan they might have for this summer and beyond, begins and ends with No. 45.

The team has a roster full of players eager to prove they can withstand the "bright lights," show they're tough enough to handle playoff-style basketball, and demonstrate they can be the first Cavs team without LeBron James to win a playoff series in 30 years.

But nobody has more to prove than Mitchell, who has never led a team past the second round of the playoffs. And nobody has a potentially bigger impact on what happens to the franchise beyond this offseason than the Cavs star guard who can hit free agency in the summer of 2025, which means the summer of 2024 will force one of two outcomes: A massive contract extension, or a mammoth, franchise-shifting trade.

Donovan Mitchell leads Cavaliers into playoff series against Orlando Magic

Mitchell said this week that he "can't do it all himself," which is true. But he's also the biggest piece of the Cavs' hopes for a deep run.

To beat the No. 5-seeded Orlando Magic, the Cavaliers will need Evan Mobley to take the next step in his development on a national stage. They'll need Jarrett Allen to continue to make his case that he's arguably been a top-10 player in the league by some efficiency ratings. They'll need Darius Garland to provide plenty of scoring punch. They'll need Max Strus, Tristan Thompson, Marcus Morris Sr. and Georges Niang to add an element of toughness that was lacking a year ago.

But no player has more resting on his shoulders, when it comes to both the Cavs' present and future, than Mitchell.

"It just comes with the territory, it comes with that when I was traded here," Mitchell said. "I think that's who I am to myself, who everybody's expecting me to be. At the end of the day, I set my own personal goals. It just happens to align with everybody else's expectations, too."

Personally, this is a major year for Mitchell, a star in the league, but one who hasn't yet reached the conference finals, which has been a major blemish on his record. He's played well at times in the playoffs — In 44 career playoff games, he's scored at least 20 points 36 times, at least 37 points nine times, 44 points four times and 50-plus twice.

But, lately, it would be fair to say he hasn't been at his best.

In the last two playoff runs — his last with Utah and first with Cleveland — Mitchell averaged 24.5 points, but shot just 41 percent from the field and only 24.7 percent from 3-point range. Both times, his teams were ousted in the first round.

Arguably, Mitchell is the biggest element of anything the Cavs hope to do over the next several weeks — and several months, if they play well enough — after a long rebuild and climb into the contenders tier in the Eastern Conference after James' second exit from Cleveland.

But there are also several major, franchise-altering aspects that are largely dependent on Mitchell's — and therefore the team's — success during these playoffs.

Donovan Mitchell contract situation remains the biggest storyline heading into 2024 playoffs

The Cavaliers will need a resolution on Mitchell's future one way or another this summer, as they can't wait for him to simply opt out of his deal and become a free agent after the 2024-25 season. Much of that might be dependent on whether he believes the Cavs can truly win a title over the next several years, or whether he sees a brighter opportunity elsewhere. Which means these playoffs might serve as that barometer.

If Mitchell doesn't play well, and especially if the Cavs again fail to get out of the first round, it's possible the Cavs might need to acquire whatever they can in a trade.

While he's been in town, Mitchell has been a model teammate. He campaigned for Allen to make the All-Star roster. He lobbied for Isaac Okoro to be considered for the NBA All-Defensive first team. He called Caris LeVert a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. He has sang Sam Merrill's praises. But the question remains: How long will he stay in Cleveland?

J.B. Bickerstaff searching for first playoff series win with Cavaliers over Orlando Magic

The other major storyline to follow, and one in which Mitchell is a major player, is Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff's future with the team. Bickerstaff has done a tremendous job developing the Cavs roster, and instilling the type of culture that has led Cleveland from the lottery and into home-court advantage (at least in the first round) in the playoffs.

As the Cavs have built their way up, they've raced past any reasonable timeline for each milestone, continually surprising the league on their way to becoming a team capable of a 50-win season. Bickerstaff has been the leader of that revolution. He also somehow navigated a brutal injury situation for the Cavs and turned it into a major silver lining in which they not only survived but caught fire and had their best stretch of the season.

But if — only if — the Cavs again fail to do much of anything in the postseason, Bickerstaff's job security could at the very least enter a stage of uncertainty, whether that's warranted or not.

The Cavs do have a somewhat balanced starting lineup, but Mitchell is the star of that group. He's a household name, a five-time All-Star, but he hasn't had the type of playoff success that normally accompanies a player of his caliber.

For him, for the Cavs, for Bickerstaff and for the franchise's future, nearly every storyline has Mitchell in the center of it all.

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Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs Donovan Mitchell, playoff hopes, contract status are center stage