Cavs' Donovan Mitchell Talks Championship Goals, Playoff Loss, More in B/R Interview
Donovan Mitchell is coming off arguably the best individual season of his career, but he fell short of the ultimate objective.
And everything he is doing this offseason is directed toward changing that in 2023-24.
"The goal is to win a championship, we don't play this game outside of that," the Cleveland Cavaliers guard told Bleacher Report. "With team success comes individual success. I have no doubt that if we do well as a team, everybody will be recognized for the talent that we are and the talent that we have."
It is a credit to Mitchell that winning a championship is not an outlandish goal in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers went 51-31 in his first season with the team and made the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign. It was also the franchise's first postseason appearance without LeBron James since 1998.
Mitchell was the primary catalyst and averaged 28.3 points, 4.4 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from three-point range, which were both career-best shooting marks.
He was rewarded with his fourth All-Star Game selection and first career spot on an All-NBA team as a member of the Second Team. Cleveland fans quickly embraced him, and he was part of quite the backcourt duo with Darius Garland.
Even though the Cavaliers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Knicks, the season was a building block for a talented core.
"We did a lot of good things," Mitchell said. "Obviously, we fell short with a disappointing end to the season. But we'll find ways to get better and improve. I love this group, I love these guys. The biggest thing for now is to continue to build forward. How do we get better day-by-day? It starts with now, it starts with the summer. So when we get to April and the playoffs are here, we're ready to go."
Cleveland will be under the spotlight when the 2024 playoffs arrive after last season's failure.
It appeared primed for a potential deep run with home-court advantage in the first round against a Knicks franchise that hadn't made it past the opening round in a decade. Mitchell has also impressed a number of times in the playoffs throughout his career and figured to be a go-to scorer for his new team in crunch time.
That turned out to be anything but the case.
The Cavaliers lost in five games as New York consistently exploited their two-big lineup of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Mitchell was also nowhere near himself and saw his field-goal percentage drop to 43.3 percent.
Perhaps most concerning, he hit just 28.9 percent of his triples.
"There were different things we struggled with," he said. "I think the biggest thing for us was we missed some shots we normally make. They got us on the boards, and that's no secret. I think for us, being able to just take that step and win as a whole. It's one-through-15, and I think we'll be ready for it next year with whoever we play. We have to approach this season with the right mindset like we did to start last year, and I think we'll be in good shape."
One difference from last year will be the presence of Emoni Bates, who the Cavaliers selected in the second round with their only pick of the 2023 NBA draft.
Bates was a 5-star prospect in the class of 2021, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and seemed destined for stardom at one time. He committed to Michigan State, reopened his recruitment and ended up at Memphis, and then transferred to Eastern Michigan after just one season with the Tigers.
He averaged 19.2 points per game in his one season at Eastern Michigan and showed enough for Cleveland to take a chance on him.
Mitchell seemed to approve:
"He's a hell of a player," the four-time All-Star said of Bates. "He's very talented, especially on the offensive end. He's a guy who is committed to the work. I've seen it. The biggest thing now is just finding ways to get adjusted to the NBA. It's a different game. He's going to be able to wait his turn and be patient with the process. When his time comes, he's going to be ready. I have no doubt."
There was also no doubt Mitchell would jump at the chance to do some good for the community when Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin asked him to be part of the company's Merch Madness: Fan Gear Giveaway event.
Athletes such as Mitchell, Tom Brady, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Chris Paul, Micah Parsons and Odell Beckham Jr. participated in the event that was part of Fanatics' annual Global Volunteer Day when the company pauses normal procedures and encourages employees to volunteer and give back.
"Michael Rubin and I have been friends for a while, and I've always loved giving back," Mitchell said. "When he called me and asked if I wanted to be a part of it, I said it was a no-brainer. Being able to give back to kids is special. It's special what they're doing, it's special how they're doing it. Being able to see the kids' faces light up is truly special."
Mitchell can participate in charitable endeavors this offseason without some of the uncertainty that was present a year ago.
He was coming off his fifth season with the Utah Jazz, and the franchise seemed to be moving in a different direction even though it made the playoffs all five years and finished with the league's best record in 2020-21.
The issue was Utah never made it past the second round during that stretch. When head coach Quin Snyder resigned and Rudy Gobert was traded, it seemed like only a matter of time before the guard was moved as well.
He was eventually traded to the Cavaliers, but now the focus is primarily just on basketball and improving with more stability and fewer questions this offseason.
"The biggest thing now is just finding ways to get better as a group and team by continuously putting in the work," Mitchell said. "That's all it's about, just finding ways to get better and be the best player I can be."
If he does that, the Cavaliers should once again be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
