The Cleveland Cavaliers fell short of their goal last season. Despite dominating the regular season, they were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.
During the Cavaliers’ second game of the Las Vegas Summer League, Donovan Mitchell joined the broadcast and shared his thoughts on the franchise falling short.
“When you’re in hindsight, it’s always like, ‘okay, we’ve taken a step. You need this to take it to the next level,” Mitchell stated. “But, to be honest with you, and I think we all feel this way, it was a letdown for us, man. We let ourselves down, we let the city down. And, we let the organization down. We all felt it… Everything lined up for us to do that, and we didn’t take care of business. So, that’s the failure on our part. So, now the biggest thing is, take it, use it as fuel.”
With the Eastern Conference looking wide open next season, Cleveland will have another chance to compete for a championship. Nevertheless, they must learn some lessons from their failures; otherwise, they could find themselves in a similar position this time next year.
Lonzo Ball is Excited About Joining Cavaliers
As you would expect, Koby Altman has quickly moved to make some alterations to the Cavaliers’ roster, specifically in terms of the supporting cast. Ty Jerome has left the franchise in free agency, joining the Memphis Grizzlies.
Lonzo Ball has been added to the roster to replace Jerome, with Isaac Okoro heading to the Chicago Bulls as part of the deal. During an appearance on the “What an Experience” podcast, Ball shared his excitement at joining Cleveland’s talented roster.
“I feel like it’s just a blessing, bro,” Ball said. “To be honest, I mean, everybody keeps asking me how I feel about the trade. I’m like, s***, I’m happy to still be playing anywhere, let alone a team that has a real chance to win a ring… My whole life, I feel like I’ve been playing the right brand of basketball, and that’s to win games, so I feel like I’m going to a great situation, and I just want to play my role and do what I can to help.”
Ball has struggled with injuries in recent years. However, if he can stay healthy and get to being near his best, he will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the Cavaliers. His defense and playmaking will provide a new dimension to the rotation and could help the team play at a higher tempo.
Ball Could Dislodge Darius Garland
A key part of roster building is finding the right balance within a rotation. If you have a ball-dominant scorer with limited defensive upside, pairing him with a defensive savant often makes sense. There aren’t many better on-ball defenders than Ball at his position.
Darius Garland is expected to miss the start of the 2025-26 season. He recently underwent surgery on a toe injury. Therefore, Ball could find himself partnering Mitchell in the starting lineup.
If Ball’s passing and defense help unlock Mitchell as a scorer and provide more balance to the starting lineup, Garland could find himself struggling to earn his starting role back. After all, Garland could thrive as the lead guard off the bench. Second unit defenses would struggle to contain him.
A healthy Lonzo Ball makes the Cavaliers a more competitive unit. And in truth, that is good for everyone, especially if the goal is a championship.
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