Donovan Mitchell bets on Cleveland: NBA News Roundup, 3 August 2026
Donovan Mitchell skips free agency for a $272m extension with Cleveland, while Naji Marshall gets rewarded by the Mavericks with a three-year, $52m deal.
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Quiet news day by NBA standards, but two contracts worth arguing about. One star bet on loyalty over the open market, one role player cashed in on a career year. Both tell you plenty about where the league's money is going this summer.
Donovan Mitchell signs $272m extension with Cleveland instead of testing free agency
Donovan Mitchell has locked in a four-year, $272 million extension with the Cavaliers rather than heading into free agency. ESPN's Bobby Marks flagged it as one of the offseason's defining trends: stars choosing certainty over the open market. Cleveland gets its guy long-term, no drama, no bidding war. Sometimes the boring move is the smart one.
Source: ESPN
Mavericks re-sign Naji Marshall on a three-year, $52m deal
Naji Marshall has agreed a three-year, $52 million extension with Dallas, a serious jump from the modest deal he signed back in 2024. The rise came off a career-best season, and the Mavericks clearly decided he was worth paying before someone else did. Whether it's a bargain or just market rate for a proven rotation piece is the pub argument here.
Source: ESPN
Cleveland building around a settled star and Dallas rewarding its glue guys, that's the kind of roster-building that wins you a draft league too. Fancy putting either side together and seeing how far loyalty gets you.