The Cleveland Cavaliers star reflects on the NBA’s shift from superteams to long-term team building, emphasizing patience and chemistry.
In today’s NBA, the dynamics of team building have shifted dramatically. The league is moving away from the era of hastily assembling superteams in hopes of immediate success. Instead, continuity, chemistry, and long-term development are proving to be the more sustainable path to a championship. Front offices are realizing that building around a core — developing talent in-house and fostering a strong organizational culture — yields better results than constant roster reshuffling. As stars become more strategic about their legacies and franchises prioritize stability, we’re seeing a new blueprint emerge — one where patience and cohesion trump short-term star power.
It seems as if Donovan Mitchell agrees. The Cleveland Cavaliers star said in the latest episode of Network with Rich Kleiman that with injuries spreading across the Eastern Conference, each team’s potential for a title certainly shifts. After all, Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and earlier in the playoffs, Jayson Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon during the playoffs against the New York Knicks. Everything, from a team’s title potential to even reaching the postseason, can change in a flash.
Last season, the Cavaliers made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where they were eliminated by the Celtics. Despite lamenting on the team’s shortcomings, Mitchell looked ahead to this year with renewed morale.
“When I first came in the league, it was a certain way, and now it’s changed nonstop, so for us, there’s an opportunity,” Mitchell said. “Last year sucked; it was a failure. But we feel like that was part of the growing process. Look at a team like Boston, not to compare apples to apples, but it took them what, 7-8 years to get a chip. So these things take time … winning isn’t easy. I think for us is just being able to take that step and use it as a motivation and fueling growth for the upcoming year.”
Be sure to catch the full conversation between Mitchell and Kleiman at Boardroom’s YouTube channel here, as well as Yahoo Sports’ podcast pages on Apple and Spotify.
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