Cleveland Cavaliers superstar guard Donovan Mitchell is still settling in with his new team following the blockbuster trade that landed him in Cleveland after spending his entire career as a franchise cornerstone of the Utah Jazz.
Mitchell disagreed with Jazz CEO Danny Ainge that the former Jazz core, which was broken up this summer, “didn’t really believe in each other”.
“I don’t think we didn’t believe [in each other],” Mitchell said, during an interview with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “I said at the end of the season, don’t trade [Rudy Gobert]. Let’s figure this out, let’s do. And that didn’t happen. For him to say that after six months around the team, I disagree. But you know, at the end of the day, that’s his decision.”
Mitchell, like the majority of the league, was a bit shocked that he wasn’t traded to his hometown New York Knicks, which seemed to be the direction, and instead landed with the Cavs.
“Very close, I won’t say more than that I know a little bit more than most, but definitely very close,” Mitchell said. “I was truly excited when I got traded [to the Cavs], but we were, it was, it was close [to the Knicks].”
Now, with a young core of talent around him, Mitchell believes the Cavs can make some very loud noise in the Eastern Conference moving forward.
“We could really build something special,” he said. “I’m just excited to play with this team, play for this city, play with these guys and just get out there and just compete and win.”
