Davion Mitchell joined the Miami Heat at the trade deadline last season and became Miami’s most reliable point guard over the final 30 games. Mitchell, best known for his defense, averaged 10.3 points and 5.3 assists per game on career-best 50.4/44.7/70.2 shooting splits, providing the kind of offensive impact that had been lacking in Sacramento and Toronto.
As result, re-signing Mitchell became one of the top priorities for the Heat this summer, as he was set to enter restricted free agency on June 30. Instead of waiting on other teams to reach out with an offer sheet and set the market for the guard, the Heat chose to work out a new deal with Mitchell that will pay him $24 million over the next two years, per Shams Charania.
Mitchell, who earned the nickname “Off Night” in Sacramento for his stout point of attack defense, found a comfortable fit with the Heat, who have long prided themselves on hard-nosed defense as a team. That culture fit seemed to bring out the best in Mitchell offensively too, as he provided a backcourt complement to Tyler Herro and was far more effective and impactful than Terry Rozier.
With Mitchell re-signed, the Heat still will have an eye on adding more backcourt talent alongside he and Herro, but it’s clear locking Mitchell up was a top priority coming into free agency and now they can shift their attention elsewhere — with Pat Riley still trying to make one more splash addition that can make Miami a contender in the East again.
