CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers opened media day with a cleaner locker-room foundation than they carried through last season’s churn: Donovan Mitchell and James Harden are both locked into new deals, Thomas Bryant is back in the frontcourt, and Peyton Watson joins a group that spent much of the summer getting familiar before training camp even began.
That continuity matters after Cleveland used 41 starting lineups during the regular season while injuries and midseason moves kept the rotation in motion. The Cavaliers’ core did not scatter once the New York Knicks ended their Eastern Conference Finals run. Instead, players stayed connected through workouts, the U.S. Open in New York and Harden’s birthday gathering.
Mitchell said it has been an unusual amount of offseason contact for him. “This is probably the most time I’ve been around teammates away from a season in my career,” he said. “We were in New York for the Open, got workouts in there, then went to James’ birthday and worked out again. None of us even went to Summer League.”
From the locker room
Harden arrived in Cleveland during last season, leaving little room for an off-court connection to develop while the club was chasing playoff position and then shifting into postseason mode. The summer gave that group a chance to close the gap.
“During the season, especially after a trade, you are playing games and then preparing for the playoffs,” Harden said. “Everything gets more intense. This summer let us learn one another. It gives guys the comfort to approach me, or for me to approach them, in ways we did not have before. We have built a lot over these past months.”
Mitchell’s decision to sign early set the tone. The seven-time All-Star agreed to a four-year, $273 million extension on the first day of the offseason signing window, even though he had two years left on his previous deal. He could have waited until next summer, when a five-year supermax projected at $350 million would have been available.
“I could have waited and made it about myself,” Mitchell said. “But I was thinking about how we can make moves as a team. I have told Koby Altman, and I have said it publicly, that I want to be here. I love being here. Now it is about producing and handling everything that comes with that.”
Harden, entering his 18th NBA season at age 36, declined his player option before signing a three-year, $97 million deal last month. He also helped bring Watson aboard in a five-team trade.
Watson gives Cleveland a young, athletic wing with playoff experience from his time in Denver. “It was an easy decision,” Harden said. “He is young, athletic and has improved a lot. He matches what we are trying to do, and he has been on postseason runs with Denver, so he understands that environment.”
Bryant, who re-signed this offseason, said the early work has already produced more shared understanding in the playbook. Last year’s constant lineup changes made that more difficult.
“We are having those conversations before the new team year has even started,” Bryant said. “That is a strong sign of growth for us going forward.”
Cleveland will still lean heavily on its two veteran engines. Mitchell, 29, posted 27.9 points, 5.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in the regular season, then averaged 26 points in the playoffs. Harden scored 10.7 points per night for Cleveland during the regular season and raised that to 19.7 in the postseason.
Jarrett Allen sees the summer work as more than a chemistry exercise. “More time together means more success to me,” Allen said. “We have a really good group. When guys are willing to sacrifice for one another, that carries a long way. You cannot replace that.”
Next tip
The Cavaliers will take training camp to Spain over the next week, extending the time together before the schedule starts. Cleveland opens the regular season October 22 in Philadelphia, where it faces LeBron James and the 76ers.
