Mitchell: “It’s a full circle moment.”

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Both the Cavaliers and Knicks were in pursuit of Donovan Mitchell last summer. New York publicly seemed to be the favorite before Cleveland swept in to secure Mitchell.

Since joining the wine and gold, the all-star has been everything and more than what the Cavaliers could have imagined.

“Life has been full of- especially this year- full circle moments,” Mitchell told media on Friday ahead of game one. “Playing the Knicks- the hometown team after this summer.”

Mitchell added that the full circle moments make the game more fun.

#Cavs Donovan Mitchell says players on this team have to be really good at what they do in these games to balance being themselves but raising the bar in the playoffs,

He also added that he’s told a lot of the younger players to embrace the moment and have fun #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/R0CFU9CtIz
— Baillie Burmaster (@bayburmTV) April 14, 2023

Knick’s Julius Randle is listed as questionable for game one.

Randle has been battling a left ankle sprain for the last two weeks.

ESPN Sources: Knicks All-Star forward Julius Randle (left ankle sprain) is targeting a return vs. the Cavaliers on Saturday. Randle has been steadily improving and plans to test his left ankle prior to gametime before making a final decision on rejoining lineup for Game 1.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 14, 2023