Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell opened up on his relationship with Darius Garland after the Cavs moved Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal for James Harden this week.
Mitchell said that he and Garland are “brothers” and that “it’s always going to be love” even though the two were unable to bring a title to Cleveland together.
“There’s a love there outside of just the game,” Mitchell told Cleveland.com when asked about his relationship with Garland. “It’s not like (expletive) you or (expletive) you. I’m not going to lie, I see the (expletive) that is being written and being said. But it ain’t none of that. The world is going to run with what the world is going to run with. I’ve said it to you for years, we all know what we have in this locker room and that’s what makes this so fun. There’s still that bond. There always will be. Even with De’Andre [Hunter], Caris [LeVert], Georges [Niang], Ty [Jerome].
“Not many guys get traded and then want to sit there and watch their old team play. It speaks to D.G. It speaks to where he is with us and where we are with him. He will be at my wedding. We’re brothers first. Then all of this is second. It’s bigger than basketball. With me and him, it’s always love. We fell short of our goal. But it’s always going to be love.”
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Garland made the All-Star Game twice during his time with the Cavs, and he was a big reason why Cleveland’s rebuild got to a point where it made sense to acquire Mitchell ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Garland blossomed into a homegrown star for the Cavs, averaging 18.8 points and 6.7 assists per game in more than six seasons with the team. He dealt with injury issues at times, which occasionally held him back.
The Cavs are hoping that Harden will raise their ceiling in the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t mean that Mitchell is going to forget his time with Garland. It’s pretty clear the Cavs star is grateful that he was able to share the court with Garland over the last several seasons.
Since Mitchell was traded to Cleveland, the Cavs have not made it past the second round of the playoffs, even though they won 64 games and were the No. 1 seed in the East last season.
This season, Cleveland has struggled a bit, but it has won eight of its last 10 games to move up into the No. 4 spot in the conference. Hopefully for the Cavs, Harden will help take the team over the top in the 2025-26 season.
Meanwhile, Garland will start a new chapter of his career as the lead guard in Los Angeles. He will get a chance to play alongside two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, and there’s a chance he will blossom now that he doesn’t share backcourt touches with Mitchell.
The Cavs are hoping that they’ll come closer to an NBA title this season – or simply win one – as it would go a long way to keeping Mitchell with the franchise beyond his current contract.
