Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell Wants Mavericks Game Canceled

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CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 07: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts during the second quarter against the New York Knicks at Rocket Arena on November 07, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Donovan Mitchell believes the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Saturday matchup with the Dallas Mavericks should be canceled.

Really, it would be postponed, but the point is the same. Mitchell doesn’t think the Cavs and Mavs should take the court in Cleveland on Saturday night.

Mitchell’s stance comes after an unusual Friday in the sports world. The FAA nationwide ground stop kept teams from getting to their destinations.

That includes the Cavs, and Mitchell got a chance to share his feelings on the matter with Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.

Donovan Mitchell Comments on Cavs-Mavs After FAA Ground Stop

In an article published by Fedor overnight Friday into Saturday, he asked Mitchell if he wanted Saturday’s game to be canceled.

“Me, personally, yeah for sure,” Mitchell told Fedor.

Mitchell then added this about the travel setup the Cavs are currently facing: “This is unprecedented.”

Cavs Changed Travel Plans

The Cavaliers played in Miami on Friday night. They lost, 133-121.

Normally, as negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement, a team flies out of town the same night that their game is played, heading straight to the airport, getting on the plane and getting out of town.

That gives the players the best chance of arriving in their next city and getting sleep before waking up for the next day — particularly important when they’re playing a back-to-back, like the Cavs are.

Fedor wrote in his article that the Cavaliers wouldn’t be getting onto their plane in Miami now until 9 a.m. ET on Saturday. They had to arrange a new pilot after the FAA nationwide ground stop kept planes out of the air for most of Friday.

The Cavs, per Fedor, got on a bus at 8 a.m. ET to get to their plane and take off by 9 a.m. ET.

Their game against the Mavs is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET in Cleveland, less than 12 hours after they take off on the plane.

NBA legends of yesteryear may have wished for a schedule that had even this much flexibility, especially with the comfort of the planes that this era’s players get to fly on.

Still, relative to how the NBA operates now, this is highly unusual and creates an odd day for the Cavs that they definitely aren’t used to.

It doesn’t seem like the game will be canceled, so it’ll be worth watching to see if the Cavaliers are noticeably impacted on the court by their unusual travel sequence.