Cleveland Cavaliers
In an era where NBA stars have changed teams more often, there were questions about whether Donovan Mitchell will grow tired of playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Mitchell and the Cavaliers finally made the Eastern Conference Finals last year, but the team still hasn’t come close to winning the NBA Finals while teams around them like the Knicks and Celtics raised a banner. However, the star guard appears committed to winning in Cleveland, which became clear when he signed a long-term extension with the team in the offseason.
Mitchell’s Cavaliers teammate, Sam Merrill, publicly stated that he’s never doubted Mitchell’s desire to remain with the team. Merrill has played with Mitchell for several years now, and he let fans in on the star guard’s mindset regarding his current team.
Here’s a look at what Merrill said about Mitchell.
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Sam Merrill confirms Donovan Mitchell’s commitment to Cleveland
Sam Merrill is entering his fifth season in Cleveland, and each of the previous four came along with Donovan Mitchell as his teammate. The veteran forward addressed Mitchell’s willingness to remain in Cleveland, claiming that Mitchell never had any intentions of changing teams.
«Donovan’s always been 100 percent committed here,» Merrill said, via HoopsHype. «I remember when he signed his last extension, when everyone thought he was going to leave and there was questions about it, like that whole season I would make jokes about it to him because we can joke about that stuff.
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«He’d always be like, ‘Is it not obvious?’ He felt like it was pretty clear that he was committed to Cleveland and he’s shown that again with this new extension. He really, really wants to be in Cleveland, loves it here, and really wants to win at the highest level.»
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Over the Summer, Mitchell signed a four-year, $275 million extension to keep him in Cleveland through the 2030-31 season. Mitchell could have hit free agency after this season at the age of 30, but he instead chose to stick around until his mid-30s.
That in of itself should show how committed Mitchell is to bringing a championship back to Cleveland. Last year, Mitchell led the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Finals, the first time that the guard played that far in the playoffs in his career.
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