For months, it seemed like Donovan Mitchell was poised to be a New York Knick. And he was indeed on the court with the Knicks on Sunday…scoring 38 points and dishing out 12 assists for Cleveland in a Cavs victory over the 'Bockers.
"I always love playing against my home team," the New York native said after the game. "I mean, it's easy to point to the summer and say that. But I'm pretty much friends with everybody on that team, you know? So it's always great to play against your guys, and I've got nothing but love for 'em. And (former Jazz assistant and current Knicks associate head coach) Johnnie Bryant's like a big brother to me, so it's always fun to go against it."
There was no motivation of any sort for like a "revenge" game for Mitchell, who was nearly a Knick (or so it seemed all summer) before being dealt from Utah to Cleveland for three players, three picks, and two pick swaps.
I definitely didn't use it for that, but everybody will probably make that. But that's not what it is," Mitchell said. "I've got nothing but love for those guys over there, but when it's your home team, you want to go out there and play hard and that's all I was trying to do."
He said "you'd have to ask them" when asked if he thinks he made the Knicks regret not getting him, but to be fair, he's averaging 32.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game in six contests this year, so if there is any regret, it's not just from Sunday.
"Like I said, man, I'm happy to be here. It's over with," Mitchell said of the Knicks saga. "I took this whole summer to just focus on myself, and believe it or not, through all the craziness – the names being thrown in every trade or whatever – this was like my best summer, as far as just from mentally just being focusing on me physically, getting healthy, going to work. So it started there."
The Cavs are now 5-1 after that win and look like legit NBA Finals contenders, a spot Mitchell is hungry to fill after his 2021-22 Jazz were eliminated in the first round for the third time in four years.
"We ended way earlier than I've ever ended in my career, so I sat there. And you sit there, and you're angry. You're angry, and then you're not knowing where you're going. So there's just a lot more, lot of fuel that you can use," Mitchell said. "For me, it was just focusing on, how can I be the best player I can be on both ends of the floor? And then you come into a new situation, and it's just being the best player I can be for the group."
Just six games in for Mitchell, so he knows it's early – but he's ready for the Cavs to make some noise.
"We're looking to play as late as we possibly can, and that's really where my head is at. But as far as taking that step, that's my goal. I didn't do it last year, like I had wanted to, and I'm just trying to find a way to do it here," he said. "And when you have teammates that believe in you, coaches that believe in you, why not keep going?"
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Listen live to WFAN via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
Follow WFAN on Social Media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
