CLEVELAND (AP) 鈥� Donovan Mitchell carried a heavy burden last season, the weight of expectations and speculation about his future combining to make every move on and off the court a challenge.
It's been lifted. The All-Star guard is freed.
鈥淚 can come in here now and breathe,鈥� Mitchell said Monday in his first public comments since with the Cavaliers in July.
All those rumors about him wanting to play in New York are over. All the talk about him testing the market as a free agent silenced. All the social media theories have ceased. Mitchell isn't going anywhere for some time.
Cleveland has become home. Why?
鈥淲hy not?" he said. 鈥淚 love it here.鈥�
Mitchell, who was traded from Utah to the Cavs in 2022, felt an immediate connection with the city from the moment he arrived. He likes the pace and the people. He can handle the harsh winters, joking 鈥淚 dress better in the cold," and said in January he concluded that it was the best place for him to continue his career.
With a strong core of players, the Cavs have something good going, and Mitchell, one of the game's best two-way guards who was viewed as the final piece to return the club to NBA title contention, only makes it better.
The 28-year-old spent much of last season dealing with questions about his commitment to the Cavs, who overcame numerous injuries and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Often awkward, it was almost a daily dance. Will he sign? Will he leave? And while Mitchell seemed to handle it well, he admitted it became exhausting 鈥� for everyone.
鈥淭his is my first media day in probably three years where I don鈥檛 have people asking me what does it take for me to stay somewhere?鈥� Mitchell said, speaking to a large media contingent inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. 鈥淒on鈥檛 understate how it becomes a lot. Not even just (for) myself but my teammates and to answer these questions because that鈥檚 a real thing, too.鈥�
The 鈥渓ooming cloud,鈥� as he called it, has dissipated.
鈥淚t鈥檚 refreshing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to be here. I鈥檓 excited to be part of this group now. The biggest thing is now that I鈥檝e signed the contract and we鈥檙e here and now there鈥檚 an expectation. It鈥檚 not like we just signed and that鈥檚 the end goal. We鈥檙e happy, whatever. There鈥檚 an expectation for us to do big things. That鈥檚 kind of where my mind is at.鈥�
Physically, Mitchell is in a good place as well. A nagging knee injury impacted him down the stretch of the regular season, and he battled a calf injury throughout the postseason before finally succumbing and sitting out Cleveland's final two games against the Celtics.
Now entering his eighth season, Mitchell has learned what works and what doesn't. He's paying more attention to nutrition, hiring a full-time chef who travels with him. He waited longer than usual before beginning his offseason conditioning program, giving his body more time to recover.
鈥淚鈥檓 not 22 anymore,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not 33.鈥�
The Cavs are running it back this season with the same roster, but a new coach in Kenny Atkinson, hired to replace J.B. Bickerstaff. It's early but Mitchell has already bonded with Atkinson, who made it a point to visit his top player this summer.
That is, after he got done messaging him in the middle of the night from the Olympics. Atkinson was an assistant on France's national team but that didn't preclude him from touching base with Mitchell and the rest of Cleveland's players.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like 4 a.m. and he鈥檚 texting me how to slip out of screens and back screens and different actions and different things,鈥� Mitchell said, smiling. 鈥淪o, I can鈥檛 complain when you have a coach that鈥檚 doing that for sure. So for him to do that, I think it shows how much he cares, the passion behind it.鈥�
NOTES: Cavs center Jarrett Allen disclosed it took more than two weeks after the season to fully recover from a broken rib that knocked him out of Cleveland's final eight games. The team's vagueness about Allen's injury led to criticism. 鈥淭hat definitely contributed to the skepticism of the injury,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淣ow that it鈥檚 out, looking at the CT scan, you could still see the piece of bone that鈥檚 still floating in my body somewhere. It was definitely a worse injury than people thought."
___
AP NBA:
Tom Withers, The Associated Press
