Donovan Mitchell On Cavaliers: ‘We’re Championship Contenders When We’re Healthy’

During an interview with NBA reporter Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Donovan Mitchell said the Cleveland Cavaliers are “championship contenders when we’re healthy.”

The Cavaliers’ core is Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. 

“We’re championship contenders when we’re healthy,” Mitchell said. “I feel like last year we grew in a lot of ways. We played a lot of different ways. Now during that stretch, we went on, obviously D.G. [Darius Garland] and Evan [Mobley] were hurt. But we found something that really can help bring us to the next level. So now the trick is how do we continue to implement that style of play over 82 [regular-season games] and then the final 16 [playoff] wins. But the development, that’s part of the reasons why I decided to sign was because I believe in our development. I believe in the hunger and the will that we have as a group.

“And so, for us, I believe we’re cherished contenders when healthy. But at the end of the day, I can tell you this, we got to go out there and continue to prove it on a daily basis. We haven’t done anything. We just one more game than we did two years ago me. So now it’s how do we find ways to continue to win and build and build and move forward. And we haven’t accomplished what we needed to accomplish. We’ve done a lot, but we have more to go.”

The Cavaliers went 48-34 last season. They beat the Orlando Magic in the first round of the NBA playoffs but lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round. 

One of the best players in the NBA, Mitchell signed a three-year extension with the Cavaliers, who also gave extensions to Mobley and Allen. 

“Everybody that they speak on — if I’m correct, and correct me if I’m wrong — has made noise,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got Boston, won a chip. New York and Philly are the other two. Obviously, we’ve all made it to the same distance. We’ve all made it to the second round. But at the end of the day, they’ve made major changes. We haven’t made major changes. So maybe that’s not something to talk about.

“But for us, I can’t let it piss you off. It just is what it is. They’re going to talk about what they want to talk about. And for us, we just have to go out there and just continue to prove to ourselves who we are, not worry about what’s being said around us. We all have our own motivation of not being healthy and available to play Boston and give them our best shot. That’s what happens. If you’re not ready and not healthy, then you miss your opportunity.

“So, for us, that’s our motivation. Just continuing to find ways to not just stick around. We got to get to a conference finals and then the Finals. That’s our biggest motivation. But it doesn’t shock me, to be honest with you, that we aren’t in those conversations. But it’s September, the goal is not to be in those conversations now. The goal is to be in those conversations when the time comes and when it matters.”

The Cavaliers begin the season on October 23 against the Toronto Raptors.