Donovan Mitchell keeps team chemistry high with young teammates

In a recent social media post, All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell was seen golfing with Cleveland prospects including forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin and guard Tyrese Proctor.

The trio out in public together is just simple team chemistry, but also shows Mitchell's willingness to mentor the younger teammates.

Tomlin went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft, joining the Cavaliers' Summer League team where he performed well. He eventually joined Cleveland's G-League team, the Cleveland Charge. He went up and down with the Cavaliers' main team last year and eventually scored his first points against the Brooklyn Nets on a two-way deal, coming on Feb. 20, 2025.

He finished the 2024-25 season with 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds during his five appearances with the Cavaliers. In the G-League, he posted 20.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

He has shown a high ceiling for the Cavaliers, being a lethal scorer, defender and bruiser for the team down in the post. The 6'10", 210-pounder can provide good depth as Cleveland looks to find forward depth behind Evan Mobley and Nance Jr..

The exciting thting about Tomlin is his ability to pair with a skillset of what Proctor has. While Tomlin has that big physic that can battle down in the post, he can also spread the floor with three-level scoring.

Proctor, standing at 6'4", 183 pounds, spent his college career at Duke University. Instead of the Cavaliers easing in his involvment with the team, they opted to ignore a two-way deal and instead signed him to a mulit-year contract.

He averaged 10.8 points, 3.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds a game on 29.9 minutes a game across his three seasons as a Blue Devil. He shot very impressive with marks of 45.2% from the field and 40.5 from three-point range. His best season came in his junior campaign, before he decided to declare for the draft, where he earned third-team All-ACC selection.

Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey commented on Proctor's ability to translate his college game to the NBA level.

"You can't have enough ball handlers. ... You can run him off screens," Gansey said. "He can play pick-and-roll. He can get in the paint. He's got a good midrange game. He makes plays for others."

Seeing Mitchell make time to connect with these young prospects is exciting. It shows his commitment to the Cavaliers and willingness to help these recent acquisitions get adapted to the league.