PHOENIX — Darius Garland didn’t talk about it with Donovan Mitchell. yet.
But in Cleveland cavaliers With the Phoenix Suns dispatched and soon on their way to Salt Lake City — the next stop on this five-game road trip and Mitchell’s old basketball home — the focus is ultimately on the regular season schedule. You can move on to the most important matches with:
Mitchell’s homecoming.
“I don’t know what kind of reaction I’m going to get. I hope there’s cheers,” Mitchell said in the locker room when asked about his return to Utah. Cleveland beat Phoenix 112-98 on Sunday night“We did a lot of great things there. “It’s not easy. Only one team does it. We had five cracks and we made a mistake.”
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For the first time since the early September trade that ushered in a new era in Utah and Cleveland on Tuesday night, Mitchell will return to where his illustrious NBA career began: as an enemy.
Drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and then sent to the Jazz on a Draft Night deal, Mitchell helped the franchise have its best year in nearly two decades. Mitchell was named an All-Star three times, leading the Jazz to the playoffs five times each of his seasons, and has set a Western record for his conference twice. He ranks in the top 10 in points, field goals, and 3-pointers.He was named an NBA All-Rookie. He was the Slam Dunk Contest champion. He’s one of Utah’s most talented players.
A resume on that court usually calls for a festive welcome.
“It’s hard to find words, but he was a big part of the organization,” said Cavaliers guard Raul Neto, who played two seasons with Mitchell in Utah. “He has always lived up to star standards since he was a rookie. He is open to learning and has grown a lot in his time there. The year I was there, Donovan was already becoming a star, I think everyone knows how big he was for the team, everyone was rooting for him, he was the team I hope you respect what he did for you.What he did for the organization was huge.But you never know what to expect.How people feel. I don’t know. I think it’s going to be fun.”
“It should be a standing ovation,” Garland told cleveland.com. I expect the best applause for all that has been done.
It’s hard to know what awaits. On the one hand, Mitchell was the face of the franchise for five years and leaving was not his choice. Like one of Mitchell’s idols, LeBron James, there won’t be a TV special of him announcing his departure from his free agency. The Utah front his office felt the core group had already reached the top and felt it was time to build a new foundation. As a result, Royce O’Neal, Rudy Gobert and Mitchell were traded in the offseason of transformation.
Mitchell has also left his mark on the community with his prolific philanthropy, but some of his recent inflammatory comments about the city and fanbase have predicted the reaction a bit awkwardly.
inside sit with andscape Ahead of Cleveland’s home game against the Jazz on December 19, Mitchell opened up about some of the racial issues he experienced while living in predominantly white Salt Lake City. He used the term “wearing out” and said he was “hurt” by his reaction after speaking out about social injustice. Mitchell has also said many times that although he has no bad feelings about the organization, he is happier than he has ever been in his career.
Can these comments be interpreted as digging into Utah? Does it fuel a raucous crowd?
“What really helped me was coming home after the summer,” Mitchell said. “So I kind of got emotional… See, I didn’t do my best. Come back to Utah and you might be booed, you might be cheered. I’ve been there for five years, and I see a lot of familiar faces and people I know, but I understand that it’s a lot of great memories.”
Mitchell said he hasn’t given much thought to his feelings of returning to Utah yet. doing. It was all about building, growing and evolving as a team for Mitchell. The Cavaliers have big goals this season, and the addition of Mitchell has ignited those goals. He also learned a tough lesson about looking ahead and getting stuck in the moment when he first played in New York as a member of the Cavaliers. It was Cleveland’s worst performance to date. It’s also one of Mitchell’s worst.
But at some point, either Monday when the Cavaliers leave Phoenix or when he returns to the Vivint Arena, Tuesday night’s biggest blow will hit him.
“It’s not on my mind yet, but it will come, it will come,” Mitchell said. “When that happens, just let your emotions take over, have fun, and be very grateful.”
Whenever questions came up about playing in Utah, Mitchell eventually tried to shift his focus back to playing against the Jazz rather than the expected hoopla that awaited him.
“At the end of the day, they are playing well. Lauri[Markkanen]is playing out of his mind. It’s going to be a difficult place to play in. I know obviously a lot can happen, but as a group we need to get another win away.”
In the first game against the Jazz in Cleveland, teammates acknowledged how important it was for Mitchell to win. They didn’t allow his old team to give his new team the best. The Cavaliers outscored the Jazz, 122-99, and Mitchell scored his team-high 23 points in the same time.
They’re bringing that same mindset to Salt Lake City.
“Just knowing the matchup, knowing the team they were playing against, just knowing it was his old team, I think it kind of lit a fire under us.” Garland told cleveland.com. “We can make sure he’s good and that he can win, so he can brag about it if he wants to.”
There are moments of reflection. It will be an emotional night. You may even cry. A video tribute will almost certainly make Mitchell even more emotional. (Alex Jensen, Irv Rowland, Chris Jones). He will probably say hello to some of the arena workers he knows well. The city helped him become the player he is today.
Tuesday is bigger than basketball.
Even if Mitchell doesn’t know Exactly What to expect, Garland thinks he has a pretty good idea.
“Aggressive dong. 71 dong,” Garland told cleveland.com. “It’s everything I expect.”
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