CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell knew for a very long time that he was going to remain a Cleveland Cavalier, despite what national pundits and rumor mills may have enjoyed discussing.
"I knew. You obviously have to do your checks and all that, but I knew for sure, probably January/February, that this was where I wanted to be. So it was kind of funny watching everybody say that this is how I'm feeling, but I knew," Mitchell said.
Mitchell's three-year, $150.3 million extension wasn't the only move of the offseason for the Cavs, but it was the biggest. It feels that since the day he was traded to Cleveland, conversations about his happiness here have swirled. He has confessed that he thought he would be traded to New York, his hometown team, and that he didn't know much about Northeast Ohio.
But it wasn't a hard sell for the Cavs to retain Mitchell. While keeping the core four—Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and himself—together was a helpful component they worked on through the summer, staying in Cleveland was something Mitchell had the desire to do.
"From the minute I got here, I told my mom, I think I was just like, 'Yo, I really like it here.' Mitchell said.
Mitchell likes a lot of things about Cleveland. His like has blossomed into a love for a city he's now proud to call home. It made signing an extension here a "no-brainer."
"Just the passion from the fans, the food is good. I'm a very simple person. I don't need nothing too crazy and Cleveland has just been amazing to me. And then this is obviously excluding everything that happens on the basketball floor. I just mean as a place to live, for me, I love it here. And I said it at the first press conference, it gets cold, but I'm used to the cold. I dress better in the cold," Mitchell laughed. "And so for me it was just a no-brainer."
From food to fans and everything in between, Mitchell loves Cleveland. It's home.
And that feeling is shared by many on the team.
The Cavs also locked up Allen with a multi-year contract extension—and like Mitchell, a love for Cleveland made signing here simple.
“Genuinely, I like it here. Not obviously basketball. I like the city, I like the people here and it's easy to say in front of everybody just to hype everybody up. But I truly do genuinely like it here and I believe in it here," Allen said. "I've put in three years, three and a half years, whatever long it's been to try to see this team succeed and I'm genuinely happy that they've put their trust in me for another whatever years.”
Even outside of the core four, the Cavs worked this offseason to bring back other key guys. Guys like Isaac Okoro, a staple for the Cavs defensively a player who they hope to continue to grow in a role off the bench.
Okoro entered free agency this offseason, and with the freedom to explore his options around the league, the forward came back to Cleveland.
"It means everything. Cleveland is all for you. All they want to do is see you work hard, get on the court, hustle and have that hard-working mentality. So once I got to the league and they seen that and they embraced that, that's all I needed," Okoro said.
A passion for the city goes a long way in Cleveland. Mitchell and his teammates have it. Now, they aim to channel that passion on the court, to push themselves deeper into the playoffs than they've gotten the past two years—and to give the city a little something in return.
An NBA championship.
