NBA rumors: Donovan Mitchell 'happy' with Cavs, Suns standing pat, No. 1 pick sleeper

The Boston Celtics are in the Eastern Conference Finals. The rest of the NBA Playoffs picture is unsettled. Denver-Minnesota and New York-Indiana are both bound for Game 7, while OKC gets a chance to force the same outcome in Dallas tonight. This is what the postseason is all about, folks. Some damn good basketball.

Of course, all but seven teams are now fully in offseason mode. With the new CBA set to impose new financial restrictions on the league's big spenders, expect a flurry of change as front offices look to reshuffle the deck and avoid costly penalties. We can expect a lot of trades. A lot of free agents changing teams. Oh, and we are a little more than a month away from the NBA Draft. What fun.

Here are the latest NBA rumors from across the association.

NBA rumors: Donovan Clingan is 'firmly in play' with top-3 picks

The 2024 NBA Draft is more or less a crapshoot. More than your typical draft, at least. The Atlanta Hawks made a historic leap up to the No. 1 spot in the lottery, but there's no consensus option. French seven-footer Alex Sarr is the betting favorite, but the Hawks' decision certainly isn't made for them. This is a draft ripe for sleepers, and we already have one potential shocker connected to Atlanta at No. 1 — or Washington and Houston right behind them.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Connecticut big man Donovan Clingan is firmly in play with the top three picks. The talented sophomore led UConn to back-to-back national titles, averaging 13.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks on 63.9 percent shooting in 22.5 minutes.

Clingan ratcheted his performance up at the right time, putting together a thoroughly dominant NCAA Tournament run for the Huskies. He appears to be interviewing well, too, and his athletic testing at the Combine was enough to convince scouts. Standing 7-foot-3 in shoes and boasting a 7-foot-7 wingspan, Clingan's raw physical gifts stand out from the crowd. Factor in excellent timing as a shot-blocker and the mobility to hang with NBA-level athletes, and it's hard to imagine Clingan flopping.

He has one of the highest floors in the draft. Even without a particularly refined offensive skill set, Clingan will feast on lobs, simple finishes, and put-backs. He is going to set thundering screens, process the floor well as a short-roll passer, and produce a steady stream of second-chance points.

The defense, meanwhile, has truly elite upside. Clingan is going to wall off the restricted area and present a massive obstacle to opposing scorers. He's not great in space, but Clingan can move his hips and slide his feet well enough to guard up on screens and cover ground in the paint. He's a great drop coverage rim protector.

The Hawks could view Clingan as the ideal rim-runner and defensive backstop next to Trae Young. Washington has long needed a proper anchor in the middle, and Houston just wants win-now pieces. The Clingan buzz is growing. Pay attention to it.

NBA rumors: There is 'no scenario' in which Suns trade KD, Devin Booker

The Phoenix Suns' season ended in bitter disappointment, getting swept out of the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. As the Denver Nuggets have since established, Phoenix is far removed from the crème de la crème of the Western Conference. To make matters worse, there is limited room to improve the roster. The new CBA will limit how much expensive teams can spend in free agency or take back in a trade.

It's tough to decipher the path forward for Phoenix. Or, perhaps it is too easy. Mat Ishbia has made clear that he wants to win, but he put all his eggs into a faulty basket. The Suns are going to run it back and suffer the same fate. Without control of its own picks for the next five years due to the KD trade, well, Phoenix can't exactly smash the rebuild button either. There's no benefit to tanking.

One could argue (quite convincingly) that Phoenix simply needs to trade Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, then start over. That Bradley Beal contract is toxic — no front office is touching it without a level of compensation the Suns cannot presently afford. And yet, the Suns are going to stick with the current group.

As GM James Jones told reporters, Durant, Booker, and Beal "aren't going anywhere."

The Suns dug their grave and now must rest in it. Mike Budenholzer is a tremendous head coach and it's impossible to deny the top-end talent, but Phoenix's lack of depth and advanced age is a poor recipe in the current NBA landscape. The West is too loaded with deep, balanced, prime-aged teams.

Apologies to the Phoenix faithful. This is a tricky spot, and the front office doesn't appear to have the flexibility or ingenuity necessary to improve. Best of luck.

NBA rumors: Donovan Mitchell 'happy' in Cleveland amid contract rumors

The Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated in five games by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Donovan Mitchell was absent for the last couple games after a heroic Game 2 performance in Boston tied the series and briefly lit the flame of hope in Cleveland. Now an offseason of change arrives. The Cavs won't look the same next season.

Mitchell has been at the center of trade rumors all season. He's due for an extension this summer and is about to enter the final year of his contract. If Mitchell says yes, great — for Cleveland, at least. If he says no, the Cavs are probably going to bite the bullet and trade him.

While the general tenor of public discourse all season has suggested that Mitchell is counting down the days until he can leave Cleveland, that may not be the case. As the All-Star guard told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, he's content with the Cavs and encouraged by the team's progress.

"I reached out to Donovan Mitchell today, and he was emphatic in telling me that he is not disgruntled with anyone or anything in Cleveland. In fact, he said to me ‘I am happy in Cleveland. I’ve been happy since I arrived in Cleveland.’ He thinks this team has made progress this season... But as he said, he’s not in this to go to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs"

He keeps the door open, of course. Mitchell wants to win and he needs to make sure Cleveland's goals align with his. That said, there is optimism in the Cavs front office that Mitchell will eventually ink an extension. Owner Dan Gilbert said as much to reporters. If Mitchell re-ups his contract, the front office will shift its focus to retooling and reshaping the roster around him. Darius Garland is expected to request a trade if Mitchell sticks around.

Changes, they are comin' one way or another.