Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers look like a different team in the 2025-26 NBA season. Compared to their performance last season, the Cavaliers have experienced hardships. They are 17-14 in the first 30 games of the year, far from the 26-4 record they had in the same number of games last season.
The Cavaliers aren’t looking like a title contender this season. Amid the struggles, trade rumors have started to surround the team. Even the coaching job of Kenny Atkinson has been rumored to be in jeopardy. Fortunately for the East team, The Athletic confirmed that Atkinson isn’t in the hot seat.
Still, no one can deny the struggles that the Cavaliers have had this year. In a recent interview with Andscape, Donovan Mitchell had a brutal and honest reality check on the team’s season so far.
“Mentally, we gotta find it,” Mitchell said. “We’re 29 games in. We’re not a playoff team right now, we’re not playing like it. We have the talent, we have the group. But we’re not playing like it and that’s on the 15 of us.
“We have to find it collectively. It’s not on just one individual. As a group, we just gotta find it.”
There isn’t a clear pattern as to how and why the Cavaliers are losing. They’ve struggled to establish themselves this year, losing to both strong and weak clubs.
Teams have started to surround the Cavaliers about Donovan Mitchell
The Cavaliers still don’t know what’s wrong or how to turn their season around. Many teams have started inquiring about Donovan Mitchell’s availability during the tumultuous year, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
“Some teams will be really star-driven and say, ‘Hey, would you ever think about moving Donovan Mitchell?’, which I haven’t heard. But I get why people would ask just in case because teams don’t want to be caught flat-footed as they were when Luka Doncic got traded.”
Reporting on where things stand for the Cleveland Cavaliers, including teams checking in on Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, and even shooting their shot for Donovan Mitchell, with hosts @BlakeMurphyODC and @mattbonner_15 on @FAN590 and @Sportsnet. pic.twitter.com/lJui4P3JOh
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) December 23, 2025
The Cavaliers are primarily contacted to inquire about Mitchell’s availability. No real trade offers have been reported. Additionally, the organization has not announced any plans to trade its best player. However, if the Cavs continue to compete, the six-time All-Star’s time in Cleveland could be numbered.
