When most people urged the team to blow things up and break up their core, Koby Altman and the Cleveland Cavaliers did the opposite.
They doubled down on them by not even entertaining the idea of trading any of their pieces, and instead, they signed Donovan Mitchell to a contract extension.
The Cavs replaced J.B. Bickerstaff with Kenny Atkinson, and the early returns of that experiment were quite encouraging.
Unfortunately, the outcome was the same, and the Cavs couldn’t get past the second round of the playoffs.
Once again, that prompted doubts about the core four and whether they had what it takes to go all the way.
Nevertheless, Mitchell and the Cavs are still committed to this core.
As pointed out by Ethan Sands of Cleveland.com, Mitchell has already visited Vanderbilt, the University of Southern California, and Texas, all of which happen to be the alma maters of his core four players.
So far this year, Donovan Mitchell has visited Vanderbilt, the University of Southern California, and Texas — the latter 2 recently in the offseason.
Those are the 3 colleges of the Core 4.
Feels like more than a coincidence. It feels like an unwavering belief in his guys to me
— Ethan Sands (@EjElite1) June 14, 2025
Like Sands highlights, that might not be a coincidence, and it should speak volumes about his faith and commitment to this core.
Mitchell is the team’s leader and leading scorer, and as such, watching him lead by example is inspiring and encouraging.
No one doubts that this team is talented enough to hold its ground against championship contenders.
They need to prove that they want it as much as other teams, and hopefully, they will learn from this season’s heartbreak and growing pains to get the monkey off their backs once and for all next season.
NEXT: Insider Says Cavs Could Make Shocking Move With Dean Wade
