On Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavs kept their winning ways going with a blowout home win over the tanking Washington Wizards. While this game marked the home debut of James Harden in Cleveland, the big story of the contest ended up being Sam Merrill, who scored a career high of 32 points on a remarkable 9-10 from beyond the three-point arc.
Before the game, Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell shared a heartwarming moment with a young fan, as reported by Camryn Justince of News 5 Cleveland on X, formerly Twitter.
“Before tonight’s game, #Cavs Donovan Mitchell saw a boy in the crowd trying to get an autograph and did him one better, bringing him and his dad down to the court ahead of tipoff,” reported Justice.
“I’d like to play him in 10 years,” said Mitchell.
With the way NBA players are aging these days, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if Mitchell were still a productive player in the league a decade from now.
For his part, James Harden is still getting it done at the age of 36, getting the Los Angeles Clippers a treasure trove of assets in their trade return package for him, and fitting in nicely so far alongside Mitchell in Cleveland.
When the trade was announced, there was some concern that Mitchell and Harden might not be able to coexist too seamlessly, considering that both players are at their best with the ball in their hands.
However, the new star duo has shown unselfishness so far in their brief time together, with Mitchell deferring to Harden at certain points in the clutch during the Cavs’ recent road victory over the Denver Nuggets.
The Cavs have now reached the All-Star break, and after they rest up for a week, they will hope to continue climbing the standings in the Eastern Conference down the stretch run of the season.
Before that, however, Mitchell will take part in the All-Star game this Sunday in Los Angeles.