Report: Donovan Mitchell assured Darius Garland that Cavs were still his team after Jazz trade

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell assured fellow guard Darius Garland that the Cavs were still his team after Cleveland traded for Mitchell from the Utah Jazz, according to The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd.

“In fact, one of the first things he did was reach out to young stars such as Darius Garland to say he wasn’t arriving with the intention of taking over the locker room,” Lloyd wrote of Mitchell. “Garland was coming off his first All-Star appearance. This was still his team, Mitchell told him. He was here to fit in and help where he could.”

It’s great to see that Mitchell just wanted to fit into what the Cavs were already building with players like Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, and it has helped Cleveland take a step in each of his seasons with the team.

In Mitchell’s first season (the 2022-23 campaign) with the Cavs, Cleveland earned the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and made the playoffs. Mitchell made an All-NBA team for the first time in his career in the process.

While the Cavs lost in the first round of the playoffs that season to the New York Knicks, they did take a step forward by making the playoffs for the first time since franchise legend LeBron James left the team for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Then, in the 2023-24 season, the Cavs won a playoff series, defeating the Orlando Magic in seven games in the first round. They eventually were knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the Boston Celtics, but Mitchell and Allen both missed time in that series due to injuries.

This season, the Cavs are off to a terrific start and have the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. At 25-4, the Cavs seem primed to earn a top seed in the East this season, and Mitchell and Garland have been able to quiet the chatter about their fit together.

A five-time All-Star, Mitchell is averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from 3. Meanwhile, Garland, who hasn’t made an All-Star Game since the Cavs traded for Mitchell, is averaging 20.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game while shooting a career-high 44.2 percent from 3.

Hopefully, the Mitchell and Garland relationship will continue to blossom as the Cavs look to earn the No. 1 seed in the East this season.