3 ways Donovan Mitchell makes the Cavs a better team

Recent Cleveland Cavaliers trade acquisition Donovan Mitchell was introduced to the Cleveland media earlier this week as “the man of the hour,” and he certainly made a big impression. He was traded here to the Cavaliers from the Utah Jazz and seems like he is very excited to be here. The youngster was a star with his old team, helping them reach the playoffs these past five years.

Now Mitchell gets in another opportunity with a new group to see if he can continue his winning ways. Cleveland is banking on that pattern of success, so here are three ways that the former Louisville Cardinal makes these Cavaliers even better.

No. 3 way Cavs are better with Mitchell: He brings playoff experience

Mitchell just turned 26 years old, and you wouldn’t think that someone that young would be considered one of the elders on the team but considering that the majority of his teammates are still under the age of 23, he is.

At his recent press conference, dressed more like a college professor with glasses, Mitchell talked a lot about how he could help these young Cavaliers moving forward.

He’s made the playoffs every year of his career, which includes 39 playoff games where he averaged over 28 points a game. Cleveland hopes that that trend continues with Mitchell draped in Wine and Gold. The youth of this team that includes two All-Stars in Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen and a third player on his way to fame in Evan Mobley were already very close to making the playoffs. Now with the acquisition of Mitchell, it’s almost a 100% guarantee.

That idea of experience was discussed at this most recent press conference where the Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff talked about how his team had games last year that they couldn’t close out because they didn’t have the knowledge or past experiences.

Now with Mitchell, they have that veteran who has been through those experiences and has learned to lead his team to the postseason. That’s what the Cavs are banking on with this enormous trade one that Koby Altman, the Cavs President of Basketball Operations, says is probably one of the biggest in franchise history.

No. 2 way Cavs are better with Mitchell: Team becomes an offensive juggernaut

The discussion of how other teams in the NBA will plan on guarding the Cavs offensive players was brought up at the recent press conference. It’s a matter of picking your poison and the Cavaliers will have the upper hand on most nights of the NBA season. Who are you going to guard is going to be the regular question on game nights.

With Mitchell’s trade it now gives Cleveland four players that will be an instant concern to the opposing team. If you don’t guard Mitchell he’ll score at will, and if you lay off Garland then he’ll be dropping teardrops and three-pointers all night long.

If opposing teams try to take away the guard play then that leaves the Cavs big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen more chances at having big nights. We saw what the Cavaliers were able to do last season without the services of Mitchell and now with him in the fold, it will only create more trouble for other teams trying to defend the Wine and Gold.

The bench of the Cavs will be one of the best in the league because of the acquisition of Mitchell. The team can bring Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, and a player like Caris LeVert off the bench who are all very capable of scoring and carrying their squad. There have been many stories in recent days around the country about how the Cavs have climbed the Eastern Conference ladder with this trade. Many seemingly believe that Cleveland is now a top-three team in the East.

In the presser, Mitchell talked about how the Cavs were a third-place team but then got sidetracked by injuries and just got left out of the playoffs. He emphasized that situation a couple of times during the discussion with the media.

Adding a career 24 points per game player who has a ton of playoff experience to boot can only result in an even more powerful offensive team this season. The Cavs literally will have an All-Star team on the court when the season starts.

No. 1 way Cavs are better with Mitchell: He brings leadership

It was a real treat to listen to Mitchell talk at his recent press conference in Cleveland. There’s usually a positivity around introductory pressers to begin with but it was especially nice to hear from a player that seemed genuinely excited about being here.

One of the more interesting stories that Mitchell shared about his new team and teammates was when he talked about the practices/workouts and some pickup runs with his new teammate Darius Garland. Mitchell talked about how Garland was making difficult shots and really forcing Mitchell to counter that with even more production on his part, in turn, trying to elevate his own game.

It’s the fact that Mitchell recognizes the opportunity to try to improve. He was pushed to get better and that is something that will continue to happen with these young Cavaliers as they challenge each other.

It certainly does seem and from the press conference it was reinforced how Mitchell is a born leader. The Cavs had a previous great leader on this team for decades named LeBron James. He was a big part in the Cavaliers winning the NBA title in 2016.

Now with Mitchell, you certainly get the impression that he could be that same type of leader. Even more impressive about Mitchell is how he seems very prepared to lead this franchise now and he doesn’t seem like it’s overwhelming him.

The expectations for the Cavaliers grew exponentially overnight with this trade for Mitchell. There will be ups and downs to the upcoming season for these young Cavs, but they now have an established superstar leading the charge and that is the best news yet.