Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150.3 million extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason and spoke on it publicly for the first time during the team’s media day availability on Monday.
“I can come in here now and breathe,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell was traded to the Cavaliers by the Utah Jazz in 2022 and had been followed by questions about his future given the fact that his new team wasn’t on his list of preferred trade destinations.
“This is my first media day in probably three years where I don’t have people asking me what does it take for me to stay somewhere?” Mitchell said. “Don’t understate how it becomes a lot. Not even just [for] myself but my teammates and to answer these questions because that’s a real thing, too.”
Mitchell was also asked why Cleveland has become home for him.
“Why not?” he said. “I love it here.”