Donovan Mitchell: We're Championship Contenders When We're Healthy

09/27/2024 02:28 PM

The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't make any major roster additions this past offseason and instead signed Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley to extensions. Mitchell is optimistic about Cleveland's chances to compete for a title with their existing roster.

"We're championship contenders when we're healthy," said Mitchell to Andscape's Marc J. Spears. "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."