Over the past few years, the Utah Jazz had to deal with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert not having the best relationship.
That’s surely one of the things that prompted the Jazz to enter a rebuild in the 2022 offseason.
The team first traded away Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a boatload of future draft picks and young assets. They even flipped Patrick Beverley, who they acquired in the deal, to the Los Angeles Lakers for more youngsters.
The biggest move they made, however, was trading Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a package headlined by Collin Sexton.
Mitchell seems to be a perfect fit for the Cavs, and he recently spoke about how his collaboration with big man Jarrett Allen will be easier to start than the one he had with Gobert.
“I think it’s coming along very well,” Mitchell said. “I think it’ll be quicker than mine and Rudy because I was a rookie when Rudy and I first started. But we were the number one or number two pick-and-roll duo in the league. That’s six years of repetition. Obviously, J.A. and I don’t have that. But for me I think it’ll come easy because one, I’m better than when I first started with Rudy. I’m not the same rookie coming in. I have an understanding of where things should be. But I also have an understanding of bigs setting pick and rolls.
“It takes time, but J.A. is fantastic at it.”
It’s great to hear that Mitchell is fitting in well with his new teammates. Chemistry is going to be very important this season if the Cavs want to make any type of noise.
With a core of Mitchell, Allen, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, talent isn’t an issue. However, talent doesn’t always translate to wins.
The Cavs finished with a winning record last season, but faltered in the play-in tournament and missed the playoffs as a result. The addition of Mitchell should change that this season.
The three-time All-Star was able to help the team secure its first victory of the preseason on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks with a 24-point performance.
Friday’s game against the Orlando Magic will be Cleveland’s final tune-up before it kicks off its regular season on Oct. 19 against the Toronto Raptors.
