When the Cleveland Cavaliers made the stunning decision to trade for Donovan Mitchell, questions inevitably arose about fit and roster structure. Most agreed it was a wise addition, but Mitchell was an elite scorer joining a team without a defined No. 1 option—a recipe for either brilliance or disaster.
An anonymous Eastern Conference scout believes Mitchell deserves inifinitely more credit than he receives for changing his game to fit with his teammates in Cleveland.
Mitchell's tenure with the Cavaliers has been wildly successful. In three years with the franchise, he's led Cleveland to records of 51-31, 48-34, and 64-18—helping to end a five-year postseason drought and a six-year stretch without a playoff series win.
According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, one Eastern Conference scout believes Mitchell has been underrated in regard to how he's helped elevate the Cavaliers without an ego.
"[Mitchell] doesn't get enough credit for how he's lifted that franchise," an East scout said, "and for how he's changed his game to mesh with the guys they had."
Cleveland was ascending before Mitchell arrived, but he deserves credit for his role in not only helping it contend, but joining an established unit and not attempting to overpower his teammates.
East scout: Donovan Mitchell underrated for changing game to fit Cavs
Cleveland went 44-38 the year before Mitchell arrived, with point guard Darius Garland and center Jarrett Allen each receiving an All-Star nod. Evan Mobley, meanwhile, earned All-Rookie First Team honors after showing signs of elite two-way potential.
As such, Mitchell shouldn't be confused with a player who has single-handedly elevated a franchise from irrelevance to prominence.
In saying that, what Mitchell has accomplished deserves equal acclaim. He joined a team that fell just shy of making the playoffs without him and was actively playing through a point guard who showed the ability to score and facilitate at star-caliber levels.
Rather than imposing his will as the star with the most recognized name value, however, Mitchell adapted to the situation at hand, changing his game to fit with his new core teammates.
In his first season with the Cavaliers, Mitchell averaged 28.3 points and 20.6 field goal attempts per game. It was a brilliant display of his individual ability, but the disappointment of a first-round exit from the playoffs seemed to unlock something in the All-NBA honoree.
Mitchell has decreased his field goal attempts across each of the past two seasons while taking on a larger role as a facilitator at 6.2 assists per game in 2023-24 and 5.0 in 2024-25.
2024-25 was perhaps his most impressive display. He went from 35.6 minutes per game between his first two seasons in Cleveland to 31.4. The Cavaliers admittedly blew teams out on a relatively regular basis, but it was a statistical display of how Mitchell cleared the path for his fellow guards to excel, with Garland returning to the All-Star Game and Ty Jerome breaking out as a reserve.
That selfless approach to not only excelling individually but empowering his teammates to do the same has been essential to Cleveland emerging as a true contender for the first time since LeBron James left in 2018.