Donovan Mitchell will be doing whatever he can this upcoming season to help the Cleveland Cavaliers reach the 2025 NBA Finals, and if they do make it there, the superstar guard has put forth some ideas about who they might face.
Mitchell said he believes the Oklahoma City Thunder or Minnesota Timberwolves will win the Western Conference and reach the Finals this season.
“I would say it’s probably gon’ be Minnesota or OKC. I think Minnesota, they some dogs,” Mitchell said. “I think they figured it out too about themselves. They made some trades and made some different acquisitions and all that, but they figured it out. OKC adding Alex Caruso, I don’t think people really understand what that does for that lineup. You’ve already got [Cason] Wallace over there, you’ve got Lu Dort, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]’s not a bad defender himself. You add Alex Caruso to that lineup.”
Mitchell seems particularly impressed by the Thunder’s acquisition of Alex Caruso this offseason in a trade with the Chicago Bulls for Josh Giddey. The 30-year-old Caruso will add a veteran presence and defensive prowess to a young core led by Alexander and Chet Holmgren.
The Cavaliers also made some significant moves this offseason to ensure that their core will be together for the foreseeable future.
Mitchell finally agreed to a long-term contract extension that had been rumored and in doubt for quite some time. In addition, big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen both agreed to extensions of their own, and combined with Darius Garland, the Cavs have a top four that should be able to compete with almost every team in the NBA.
Last season, the Cavs won a playoff series for the first time since 2018, knocking out the Orlando Magic in a seven-game first-round series. Cleveland then was eliminated in the second round by the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in five games.
The Timberwolves lost in the 2024 Western Conference Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, after the Thunder bowed out with a second-round loss to the Mavs.
Despite the long-awaited playoff victory, the Cavs fired head coach J.B. Bickerstaff this offseason and replaced him with Kenny Atkinson. The new head coach reportedly was the one who convinced Cavs brass to try to squeeze more out of the current roster as they try to win another NBA championship to go along with their 2016 title.
The Cavs certainly would be happy to face anyone in the 2025 NBA Finals if they were to make it there, but it will be worth watching if Mitchell’s prediction on who their opponent will be does come to fruition.
