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Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150.3 million extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason. He spoke on it publicly for the first time during the Cavs' annual media day availability. To Mitchell, it gave him a sense of peace he hadn't had in a while.
“I can come in here now and breathe,” Mitchell said.
“From the minute I got here, I told my mom, I think I was just like, ‘Yo, I really like it here,’” Mitchell continued. “For me, it was just a no-brainer. I’ve known for a little bit that this was my decision. It’s finally good to have a media day where we’re not talking about where I’m going next. You can lay your roots somewhere that you actually want to be. I think that’s special.”
Mitchell was traded to the Cavaliers by the Utah Jazz in 2022, which has led to questions about his future, given that his new team isn't on his list of preferred trade destinations. However, all those rumors about him wanting to play for the New York Knicks are over. All the talk about him testing the market as a free agent was silenced. Mitchell isn't going anywhere for some time.
“This is my first media day in probably three years where I don't have people asking me what does it take for me to stay somewhere?” Mitchell said. “Don't understate how it becomes a lot. Not even just [for] myself but my teammates and to answer these questions because that's a real thing, too.”
The “looming cloud,” as he called it, has vanished. To Mitchell, Cleveland is a place he loves to call home. He shared that he wanted to do this when last season began. However, when the Cavs took their overseas trip to Paris, Mitchell knew this was the team he wanted to win with.
“It's refreshing,” he said. “I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to be part of this group now. The biggest thing is now that I've signed the contract, we're here, and there's an expectation. It's not like we just signed, and that's the end goal. We're happy, whatever. There's an expectation for us to do big things. That's kind of where my mind is at.”
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What else did Donovan Mitchell say during Cavs Media Day?
Physically, Mitchell is in a good place as well. A nagging knee injury impacted him down the stretch of the regular season, and he battled a calf injury throughout the postseason. Eventually, the physical toll forced Mitchell to sit out for Cleveland's final two games against the Celtics.
Now entering his eighth season, Mitchell has learned what works and what doesn't. He's paying more attention and listening to his body more closely. He waited longer than usual before beginning his offseason conditioning program, giving his body more time to recover. Now Mitchell can focus on making his belief in the Cavs being an Eastern Conference contender a reality.
“I believe when we’re healthy, we’re a championship-contending team,” Mitchell boasted. “But the unfortunate part is for the past two years, we haven’t been a fully healthy team throughout the year in different spurts. Now, the biggest thing is for us to put those pieces together on the health side, but then also put those pieces together on the floor. You don’t just throw a team together and make it to the championship. That’s pretty tough to do. It’s continue to take steps and building blocks and finding ways to compete at the highest level and win at the highest level.”
