Donovan Mitchell continues to dominate with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The former Utah Jazz star vocalized how much he's enjoyed his success in Cleveland, though he also admitted he initially didn't want it that way.
After the Cavaliers took Game 3 from the Indiana Pacers, Mitchell revealed where he really wanted to go when the Jazz put him on the market, though he made it clear that he has no problems with Cleveland.
"It's been one of the best seasons of my life," Mitchell told FOX Sports' Melissa Roehlin. "I'm glad I'm here. Obviously, it's no secret: Did I want to go home? I mean, yeah, sure. But coming here, seeing the group we had, understanding what we could continue to build, it wasn't long before I was like, man, this is special."
Everyone remembers what happened the summer the Jazz traded Mitchell. Utah's front office basically played a game of chicken with the New York Knicks. It seemed like Mitchell was New York-bound for a while because he's a New York native, but the Knicks refused to pay up in full for him, while the Cavaliers did, and the rest is history.
Cleveland has reaped the rewards from that, but so has Utah. Lauri Markkanen turned into their next unlikely star like Mitchell once did, and there's no telling what those draft assets from the Cavaliers will look like not too long from now. Plus, if Markkanen isn't long for Utah, they could get assets for him and hence, more from the Mitchell trade by proxy.
Until proven otherwise, this was basically a win-win deal, even if there's a strong case to be made that Utah was better off keeping Mitchell.
The East would have been so much different with Mitchell on the Knicks
Seeing the strides Mitchell has made as a playoff performer, even if it hasn't always resulted in Cleveland wins, can only make one wonder how he would have done had he been paired up with Jalen Brunson in the Big Apple.
At the time, the NBA knew that Brunson was good, but it wasn't clear if he would be great. Since then, Brunson has only further proven the Knicks were right to believe in him. Imagine adding Mitchell into that equation.
Basketball's not played in a vacuum, so if Brunson and Mitchell were paired together, there's no telling if they would have put up the gaudy numbers they have for the past few years. However, those two would have made the NBA's most potent duo of scoring guards in the entire league. If Brunson could make it work with Luka Doncic back in Dallas, he could have done the same with Mitchell.
The Jazz might have helped form an Eastern Conference contender by sending Mitchell to Cleveland, but they could have formed an Eastern Conference powerhouse if they had sent him to New York.