While Cleveland Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell is enjoying the Cleveland Guardians’ playoff push in the MLB Playoffs, he’s gearing up for an exciting upcoming season. Mitchell inked a three-year, $150.3 million contract extension during the offseason, securing his NBA future with the Cavs and giving him peace of mind over the summer he hadn’t anticipated. Donovan opened up about his experiences over the year with Sirius XM NBA Radio hosts Rob Perez and Antonio Daniels over the past few years.
“You don’t realize how impactful that situation is until you’re out of it. It became the norm for my life for the past three years, every summer, even dating back to when I was in Utah. Every summer was like, “Is it this? Is it that?” then obviously, you hear, “Is it New York? Is it New York? Is it Miami? It’s this and that,” Mitchell said.
Speculation over whether Mitchell would re-sign came to a screeching halt after the official extension. However, the past few summers were different.
“The first year, I tried to fight it, you know? Mitchell said. “You try to be like, ‘No,’ [to the rumors], but after that, it’s like as long as these guys know, everybody in my locker room, that’s where I got to last season, where it’s like, as long as everybody in this building knows what it is, that’s all I can ask for. And now that I’m settled here, it’s freeing.”
Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs starting lineup sat in their 129-117 preseason finale loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. However, the five-time All-Star finished with 13 points, four assists, two rebounds, one block, and one steal in 25 minutes of Cleveland’s 108-92 loss to the Detroit Pistons on the front end of the Cavs’ back-to-back at the end of their preseason schedule.
Donovan Mitchell slighted by Charles Barkley in Top 50 ranking
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When Hall of Fame forward and NBA analyst Charles Barkley released a list of his top 21 to 50 players in the NBA, fans were surprised to see Cavs star Donovan Mitchell at No. 43, per House of Highlights’ X, formerly Twitter. Miami Heat forward Tyler Herro (No. 42), Minnesota Timberwolves’ Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid (No. 41), and Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (No. 40) all finished ahead of Mitchell on Barkley’s list.
Sacramento Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis (No. 21), Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, and Boston Celtics center Kristpas Porzingis (No. 23) rounded out between 21 and 50 of Sir Charles’ Top 50 NBA players list.
