Donovan Mitchell was on a contender for several seasons with the Utah Jazz as the Cleveland Cavaliers are now, but his perspective on it has changed as he’s become a veteran. Mike Conley would tell him to appreciate the moment when he was with the Jazz as nothing in the NBA is promised.
“What I’ve learned is that this isn’t forever. We are not invincible. You have to appreciate this, because this doesn’t come around too often,” Mitchell told The Athletic over the weekend. “When Mike was saying that, it wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate it then, but when you’re as young as I was then, you don’t know what you don’t know.
“I find myself telling the guys in this locker room the same stuff that Mike and Joe (Ingles) and Ricky (Rubio) used to tell me. What we have this season? This isn’t always the NBA. Not every locker room is like this.”
Mitchell was also plagued by questions of whether he and Rudy Gobert could coexist and if he would eventually leave the Jazz for another team.
“For years, everyone has talked about if I like Rudy, or talked about me going to the New York Knicks or the Miami Heat,” he said. “So, it’s great to finally have that sense of peace.”
The Cavaliers have exceeded expectations this season after he committed the franchise with a long-term extenison.
“Ideally, if I can paint a picture, I would win a championship at some point over the next five years,” he said. “It’s hard to win championships. It’s hard to win in this league. Despite public opinion, I love being in Cleveland and I want to win a title with this group.”