The Cleveland Cavaliers rolled the dice when they went after Donovan Mitchell.
Most insiders claimed he was eager to play for the New York Knicks or Miami Heat, stating that it would only be a matter of time before he forced his way out of Cleveland.
They repeatedly claimed that he was bound to leave in the months leading up to his contract extension.
Even Mitchell himself put the brakes on speculation when team officials talked about their optimism to get a contract extension done.
Of course, we already know how the story ended: Mitchell signed a huge extension to stay in Cleveland.
That’s why, when asked about his plans with the team, he doubled down on his commitment to the organization and stated that, despite public opinion, he doesn’t want to be anywhere else:
“Ideally, if I can paint a picture, I would win a championship at some point over the next five years,” he said. “It’s hard to win championships. It’s hard to win in this league. Despite public opinion, I love being in Cleveland and I want to win a title with this group.”
Mitchell isn’t like most star players in this league.
Despite everything that went down with Rudy Gobert and everything he reportedly had to listen to and deal with, he never asked the Utah Jazz to trade him.
Then, even knowing that other big-market teams wanted him – even his hometown team – he still chose to do things the hard way and stay put in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers are currently the best team in the Association, at least record-wise, so it worked in his favor.
Hopefully, he will be able to live up to those expectations and fulfill his goal of leading this franchise back to the top of the world.
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