Donovan Mitchell (Rob Lorenzo/ESPN Cleveland)
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Danny Cunningham covers the Cleveland Cavaliers for ESPN Cleveland and TheLandOnDemand.com
The Cavaliers officially opened up training camp on Tuesday morning at Cleveland Clinic Courts with expectations much higher than the last time the team officially convened at its practice facility back in April. The Cavaliers went from the feel-good story of the NBA last season to a team that should, at minimum, secure its spot in the playoffs this season while watching other teams fight in the familiar play-in tournament.
This all changed the day the Cavaliers acquired guard Donovan Mitchell in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz. Tuesday was the first time that was seen in action at Cleveland Clinic Courts. The team held a pair of practices on Tuesday, with one session taking place in the morning and another in the evening.
How Mitchell integrates into the team will be interesting. Adding a superstar to the equation isn’t always the most seamless transition. There will be an adjustment period both on and off the floor, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. The early feedback from the Cavs is as good as it can be, though.
“His ability to fit in, there wasn’t a question about it, but when you’re a three-time All-Star at the level he’s at, some guys want to be outliers,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said following the team’s first practice on Tuesday. “What we saw with Donovan is his want to be part of the team and not separate himself. That stood out. You just watch him and it’s right away. He fits with this group and hopefully that continues to get even better and helps the chemistry with the guys on the floor also.”
The on-court fit will be an ever-evolving dynamic that needs time to be figured out. The early word that Mitchell seems to be seamlessly fitting in with the rest of the team off-the-court is a great sign. The more interesting questions will be how the Cavs operate when he and fellow All-Star guard Darius Garland are on the floor together as well as staggered. Having a pair of All-Star guards gives the Cavs one of the best backcourts in the NBA, and it’s one that will be bolstered whenever guard Ricky Rubio returns from his torn left ACL.
According to Bickerstaff, the Cavs plan to always operate with at least one of Garland or Mitchell on the floor. What those styles of play look like and the surrounding pieces to each of them will be fascinating to watch.
The other issue that’s been brought up frequently with Mitchell has been his poor defensive performance over the last few years in Utah. In Cleveland, Mitchell will be in a somewhat similar situation he was in Utah. With the Jazz, Mitchell shared the floor with Rudy Gobert, a multi-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the guy regarded as the best rim defender in basketball. In Cleveland he’ll be on the floor with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. While neither of them are exact clones of Gobert, they possess similar abilities to protect the basket.
“I think a lot of it for me is focus and attention to deal,” Mitchell said. “A lot of it is I don’t have to do as much offensively. I’m able to lock in on most possessions so I’m not as tired. Getting in better shape, to be able to play both sides of the ball. It’s not the ability. I can play defense. I know that for a fact. I haven’t shown that and that’s what I’m looking forward to doing here. The top five defense, I’m not here to bring that down to six, seven, eight, nine. We’re here to go five, four, three, two, or one. Finding ways to do that, it starts with the little things. It’s attention to detail, keeping my man in front, being there, making the extra effort to contest. That’s ultimately what my goal here is as one of the leaders on this team and to continue to put forth that effort on both ends.”
Last season, the Cavaliers finished fifth in the NBA in defensive rating, allowing an average of 108.9 points per 100 possessions. Utah with Mitchell and Gobert finished 10th with a rating of 110.0. The four teams that finished above the Cavaliers were Boston, Golden State, Phoenix, and Miami. It’s up to Mitchell not only to help keep the Cavaliers as a top five defense, but also to help improve it even more.
Filling in the gap
The trade for Mitchell this summer means that four of the five spots in the starting lineup for the Cavs are cemented in place. Both Mitchell and Garland will be the starters in the backcourt, while Allen and Mobley will start at center and power forward, respectively. This leaves an opening at the small forward spot, and if the Cavaliers have a leader in the clubhouse to win the starting position, it hasn’t yet been revealed.
When Bickerstaff was asked about it on Tuesday, he listed off just about every name imaginable that could fill that void. He mentioned Cedi Osman, Dylan Windler, Dean Wade, Caris LeVert, Lamar Stevens, and Isaac Okoro as options at that spot. Each of the players on that list may bring a specific reason to be in the starting lineup, but LeVert may be the most talented of the bunch. The question worth asking with LeVert is whether or not it makes more sense to bring him off the bench as to not have him, Garland, and Mitchell all sharing the floor at the start of games.
Okoro might be the answer that makes the most sense as of now, but much depends on whether or not he can be a consistent shooter from beyond the arc.
“We’ll have a good idea by the end of the preseason,” Bickerstaff said when asked how quickly he thinks the fifth starter will be figured out. “We are gonna experiment in the preseason. We may throw some wild lineups out on the floor, because that’s what we like to do.”
Dean Wade extended
On Tuesday morning the Cavaliers did announce that they had signed Wade to a contract extension. The deal is reportedly worth $18.5 million over three years and was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wade is a true testament to the franchise’s player development system. He was an undrafted player out of Kansas State and initially stuck with the Cavs on a two-way contract for the 2019-20 season. Wade has shown that he can be a serviceable rotation player on a good team, and can stay ready for whatever role is asked of him, something that is vitally important in today’s NBA.
Last season with the Cavs, Wade played in 51 games, averaging 5.3 points per game while shooting 35.9% from beyond the arc.