Donovan Mitchell reportedly erupted in joy when he discovered that the quartet of Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Kevin Love were still part of the Cleveland Cavaliers following Thursday’s blockbuster deal.
Brian Windhorst appeared on ESPN Cleveland soon after Mitchell was acquired by the Cavaliers and reported that Mitchell was golfing at the time he got the news.
Live now on The Land on Demand, @WindhorstESPN
Donovan Mitchell was on the golf course when he heard the news, and he ran in excitement when he found out who was still on the @cavs
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) September 1, 2022
“It’s a great fit for Donovan Mitchell,” Windhorst said. “And I’m gonna tell you, I can’t tell you how I know, but I’m aware of when he found out. And I’m aware of when he actually found out about what was in the trade. And when he found out — he was on a golf course — and when he found out that Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Darius Garland were not in the trade, and neither was Kevin Love, he went screaming around the golf course, he was so excited. He’s extremely excited in this moment. I’m sure he would love to have been a [New York] Knick, that’s his hometown. But he’s extremely excited in the moment.”
Mitchell’s status with the Jazz had been uncertain during the offseason, with the Knicks among the teams pursuing a deal for him. However, knowing that the Cavaliers bounced back last season last year and have a strong core of young players helped erase any disappointment for Mitchell.
Reasons for Enthusiasm
None of the players the Cavaliers lost were likely seen as central components to the team. In addition, the draft bonanza received by the Jazz in the deal is something that will take years to materialize, with Mitchell focused on the immediate future of the Cavs.
That future was starting to brighten last season until injuries during the second half of the year caused the Cavaliers to fall into the play-in category for the postseason. Consecutive losses to the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks then abruptly ended hopes of a deep playoff run.
Mitchell will turn 26 next Wednesday and will be older than three of the members of the aforementioned quartet. Kevin Love turns 34 next week, while Allen is just 24, Garland is 22 and Mobley is only 21 years old.
While Love is entering the final year of his four-year deal with the Cavs, the other three members of that quartet are signed for multiple years and have the youth to get even better in the future.
Mitchell himself emerged as one of the top guards in the NBA after the Jazz selected him with the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Staying in Place
The contract extension that Mitchell signed as a member of the Jazz will now keep him in a Cavaliers uniform until at least the 2024-25 season. He has a player option for the following season that would pay him $37.1 million, though he may opt out if he continues his on-court success.
After a relatively quiet offseason, the Cavaliers are now heading into training camp at the end of this month with dreams of truly making that deep run they missed out on last year.
