"You are only allowed to have two designated players on your roster" - Brian Windhorst claims Cleveland Cavaliers could be in trouble due to Donovan Mitchell trade
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be looking to make a title push following the signing of Donovan Mitchell. The franchise failed to make it to the playoffs last season despite holding a 44-38 record and will be keen to make amends next season.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Utah Jazz have traded Mitchell to Cleveland, although the organization is yet to confirm the deal. It is expected that Mitchell, who will turn 26 in a few days, will soon join his new teammates in training camp.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired Donovan Mitchell in a trade, sources tell ESPN.
While Cavaliers fans are happy with Mitchell's imminent arrival, NBA analyst Brian Windhorst highlighted a potential problem the trade could create.
He stated that according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, a franchise is only allowed to have two designated players on its roster. He went on to add that the franchise is, however, only allowed to trade for one. He also referenced the Brooklyn Nets' situation with Ben Simmons and why they could not make an offer for Mitchell.
"This is deep in the CBA, but the Cavs did create a problem today, a potential problem," Windhorst said. "And that is that you are only allowed to have two designated players on your roster. You are only allowed to trade for one, you could not trade for two.
"Which is why the Nets couldn't trade for another, you know they couldn't trade for Donovan Mitchell while they had Ben Simmons."
"They created one when they signed Darius Garland to a five-year max" - Brian Windhorst
With the signing of the three-time All-Star, the Cleveland Cavaliers now have two players on a five-year designated rookie max extension, the other being Darius Garland.
According to Windhorst, this could cause problems when it is time for Evan Mobley to get a contract extension.
"The Cavs had one this summer — they created one when they signed Darius Garland to a five-year max," Windhorst said. "That makes him one of their designated players. Today, they traded for another one in Donovan Mitchell.
“Evan Mobley, assuming he continues to play this well, is probably going to be a designated player. He becomes eligible to sign that extension in the summer of 2024. Donovan Mitchell will still be on his contract in that summer.”
He revealed that the Cavaliers would still be able to extend Mobley's contract. However, he stated that the franchise would not be able to give the player a five-year extension and could only do four.
“The Cavs can still sign Mobley, but they can’t give him the five-year contract,” Windhorst said. “They can only give him a four-year.”