CLEVELAND — When it comes to the Cavaliers ' future, the spotlight was already firmly affixed to Donovan Mitchell's contract situation . Now the high beams are on it.
In a matter of days, the Cavs' starting lineup for the foreseeable future was devastated . And now, the Cavs will have to pick up the pieces and possibly address some concerns when it comes to the direction of the team.
Darius Garland sustained a fractured jaw and will undergo a procedure to help the healing process. It'll be around four weeks before he's re-evaluated. Evan Mobley will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery to remove a loose body. He's expected to be missing from the lineup for up to two months.
"I would say it's tough on all of us," said Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. "You have empathy for those guys, the time they put in, the work they put in, how much this means to them, how much being a part of the team and being in the fight with their teammates means to them."
When asked about his own reaction, Mitchell first said he couldn't curse. Then he couldn't stop himself a few seconds later. It represented the frustration in the locker room.
"We lose three straight games where you feel like they're winnable, and you're kind of down. Then [lose] both of them on the same day," Mitchell said. "[Garland] texted me first and he told me and I was like, 'No F way. There's no way.'"
That's two of the three most vital pieces to the Cavs' puzzle suddenly sidelined. The third is Mitchell, who happens to be in one of the most intriguing contractual situations in the entire league.
Mitchell is technically under contract for this season and the two years after that, but it's far from that simple . The last year is a player option, and it's murky at best as to whether Mitchell will re-sign long term with the Cavs. He repeatedly mentioned during the team's Media Day before the season that he'll be able to sign an extension next summer. But it's something that also could have happened five months ago.
If the Cavs aren't confident that Mitchell will sign long term, then they must view his contract as ending after next season. And the Domino Effect of all of it is that, if the Cavs think Mitchell will decline his player option and walk to free agency, then next summer needs to end with one of two outcomes: a Mitchell extension or another blockbuster Mitchell trade, this time with him exiting Cleveland .
If Mitchell won't commit to the team long-term next summer, they'd need to trade him at that point. The two body blows via the Garland and Mobley injuries have brought those questions to the forefront now.
The Cavs knew they'd arrive at these crossroads eventually. But objects in mirror are (suddenly) closer than they appear.
And they aren't getting any answers right now.
"I'm not answering these questions, I'm not answering anything about that," Mitchell said. "I'm really focused on this. I'm not trying to have nothing as much as I can control it coming out of my mouth, I'm not doing that. That's for you guys to do that. My job is to focus on this and we have two guys that are out."
This entire regular season for the Cavs, with a bigger picture in mind, was about two things:
2. Showing Mitchell enough that he sees a promising future in Cleveland and re-signs long term, thus aligning the team control years between him, Garland, Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Max Strus .
Except now, the Cavs won't have much time to show much of anything in the regular season. There will be question marks either way. They needed the five starters to play as much as possible together. That was already a challenge before this week considering their injury-riddled season.
The Cavs knew there wasn't much to glean from their first several games while Garland, Mitchell and others dealt with injuries at various times. Now they'll enter a much more extreme example of that for the next 1-2 months.
By the way: the NBA's trade deadline is Feb. 8, which is right around the time Mobley might be able to return.
On top of all of that, they now know that a sizable chunk of the season will simply be about keeping their head above water and possibly seeing what some role players can do with more minutes.
The Cavs don't have to make a trade of this nature or magnitude prior to the February deadline. They can stay the course, allow some role players to receive some larger minutes and hope to keep the ship afloat for a few months before the playoffs. They can view this is a regular-season obstacle, and make these Mitchell-related decisions later.
They can hope that the starting lineup is healthy by the time the games really matter. They can hope that they can show Mitchell enough solely in a playoff run to lead to a contract extension in the summer.
It's just a lot of hoping and uncertainty with the franchise's star player.
The Cavs weren't free of issues before this week, either. They entered Saturday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks on a three-game losing streak and were just 13-12 over their previous 25 games. They have remained a work in progress.
Mitchell's contract situation combined with the double-dose of brutal injury news on Friday might lead the Cavs to at least further explore some options on the trade market. If the Cavs were willing to move him, there'd be a number of suitors, as Mitchell's trade value won't ever be as high as it is right now. It still might not make sense to go that route, but it's also a fact of the matter.
Do the Cavs need to make a move in reaction to these injuries? Absolutely not. But it's possible they have accelerated the timeframe on asking some difficult questions.
Bickerstaff has pushed the Cavs beyond their expectations several years in a row. They were fringe contenders far before they were supposed to join those ranks in the East. They were a 50-win team before many predicted they'd reach that plateau. The five-game series loss to the Knicks could only be viewed as disappointing, but for the most part, Bickerstaff and his defense-first culture has propelled the Cavs to new heights much earlier than could have been reasonably expected.
Except now, there is an expectation of winning. Now, winning a playoff series is the clear No. 1 goal on the team's to-do list — not just making it back there. The Cavs haven't won a playoff series without LeBron James in three decades. And the sense of urgency is mounting for the first time since James left for Los Angeles .
The Cavs again failing to win a playoff series would be a massive disappointment for the high hopes that followed, largely due to the Mitchell trade.
This is the biggest test Bickerstaff will have faced to date, as he's now tasked with potentially navigating a two-month period without 40% of the starting lineup, and even if the Cavs do manage to secure a playoff spot, they'll do so with very little time on the floor together this season, all things considered.
In some ways, it's a chance to further prove himself after the Cavs were dealt not one but two difficult hands in a matter of days.
"It's just about being together," Bickerstaff said when asked about his message to the team. "At this point in time, you band together. It's a fun opportunity where it's backs-against-the-wall, almost, and you just come out kicking and scratching and clawing, and you do it together and give yourself an opportunity, but enjoy the spirit of competition and go out there and get the job done."
With Garland out, the task in front of Mitchell becomes two-fold.
Mitchell will take over some of the run-the-offense, point guard-related duties left by Garland. He'll have to be more of facilitator within the offense as he runs the point.
The first test went well. Mitchell dished out a career-high 13 assists Saturday night against the Hawks.
But while he has to fill Garland's shoes to a degree, Mitchell also now needs to take on more of the scoring load.
He'll be the facilitator at times. And in many others — especially late in the fourth quarter — he'll be relied on even more to be the go-to option in the offense.
"To be able to do both," Mitchell said. "Some nights it'll be scoring more, some nights to be on the boards more, some nights it'll be assist more. … It's going to be a lot for me to carry. But fortunately I have guys that make it easier on myself, so it doesn't feel that way."
And yet, on the court and off, the Cavs' world revolves around Mitchell.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: How Garland and Mobley injuries could impact Mitchell, Cleveland Cavs
