Donovan Mitchell Denies Rumor He Had Concerns About Playing with Heat’s Jimmy Butler

Former Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was heavily connected to the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Miami Heat last offseason before being traded to the Cavs.

Regarding a potential match with the Heat, Ethan Skolnick of Five Reasons Sports said on the Miami Heat Beat’s HangoverTime Postgame Show that Mitchell “was a little bit concerned” about playing with Jimmy Butler.

Mitchell took to his Twitter account to deny the rumor:

The Cavs and Knicks ended up being the two finalists for Mitchell’s services, and Cleveland eventually won out.

It’s worked out quite well for Mitchell, who just made his fourth consecutive All-Star Game. The 26-year-old leads the Cavs with 27.6 points per game on 47.8 percent shooting. He’s also posted a 71-point effort en route to leading Cleveland to a 43-27 record, good enough for fourth in the Eastern Conference. Thanks in part to his efforts, the Cavs are well on their way to making the playoffs without LeBron James for the first time since 1997-98.

As for Butler and the Heat, they’ve done well under his leadership too. Butler ended up with Miami via a sign-and-trade in 2019, and the team has earned two Eastern Conference Finals appearances and one NBA Finals berth since. This year’s team is in a fight for a playoff spot, but the Heat are still in good shape at 37-33 and seventh in the East. Butler is leading the team with 22.6 points on 52.5 percent shooting alongside 6.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists.