Few franchises have the amount of talent the Cleveland Cavaliers have enjoyed, especially after losing the team's greatest player of all time in 2018.
Donovan Mitchell has ascended to new heights in his prime. He is an undeniable All-NBA guard, and is a lock for the All-Star roster every season. Last year, he ended the season fifth in MVP voting. In his fourth Cavaliers season, Mitchell is averaging 29 points, 5.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game on good efficiency.
Mitchell has not just been good for the Cavs. He's been outright amazing.
Despite all of his skills and personal accolades, the seven-time All-Star has yet to reach the Conference Finals either with the Utah Jazz or the Cavaliers. Cleveland spent the trade deadline attempting to construct a roster capable of doing just that, adding James Harden alongside Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis.
Cleveland's yearly postseason failures spawned a volley of rumors that Mitchell would be on his way out sooner rather than later. As a superstar in his prime, Mitchell has little reason to wait for a team to be ready to compete when he is prepared to lead a championship squad. When the Darius Garland trade for Harden first came about, a small section of Cavs fans expressed a desire to move on from Mitchell instead of Garland out of the fear that Mitchel was going to leave anyway.
Rumors are rumors, but the Association thrives on stars moving to new teams and forming new contenders. If there was going to be a star with reason to leave, it would be the 29-year-old reaching career highs stuck on a team that cannot keep it together in the playoffs.
Typically, the exit ramp for Mitchell is expected to lead to New York City or Los Angeles with the idea that Mitchell would end up in one of the league's premier markets. Instead, the latest questions hurled at Mitchell about his future centered on the NBA's newest idea, a European league.
Donovan Mitchell is loyal to Cleveland
The NBA is considering expanding to Europe as basketball becomes a more global sport. With all-time greats like Nikola Jokic coming from Europe, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is seeing the potential to expand the league across the ocean.
This change would mean that the pipeline for NBA talent would not just include Europeans coming to the United States. Instead, stars from the USA could travel abroad and play in a European NBA, too. In a new article, Joe Vardon of The Atlantic asked which NBA stars would consider making the change.
Cleveland's Mitchell made it pretty clear he's staying where he's at.
"I got to get a championship with the Cavs first before I do anything else, so I guess the answer is no."Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell has restated his commitment to the Cavs over his tenure, re-signing to a maximum contract after his second season. Still, continued posteason disappointment is enough reason to question if he is changing his mind. Mitchell clearly wants to win a championship. Every great player knows they should be able to do it before they retire.
Right now, it seems that Mitchell believes that will happen in Cleveland. He has good reason to believe that, too. He is playing alongside one of the best point guards the league has ever seen, and Evan Mobley is continuing to show why he won Defensive Player of the Year last season. The Cavs also boast tremendous depth, especially after adding Schroder and Ellis.
Mitchell has always been a seriously loyal player, never requesting a trade from the Jazz but simply accepting the franchise was ready to make change. He did not force his way to any one franchise, and from the moment he came to Cleveland, he has embraced the city.
This season, the Cleveland Cavaliers did everything right to give Mitchell a reason to stay loyal. Adding Harden reshaped the star core for a win-now approach, but the Cavs still retained young talent in Mobley and Jaylon Tyson. If there is a team that is built to win with Donovan Mitchell, it's in Ohio and not Europe.