CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs find themselves at a fascinating crossroads heading into the 2025-26 season. With championship aspirations and a core that continues to mature, the team faces a counterintuitive challenge that could define their season: sometimes, losing might be winning.

This provocative idea emerged during a candid discussion on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, where cleveland.com columnist Jimmy Watkins made an argument that might make competitive purists wince: “I’m at the point now, I think the Cavs need to lose some regular season games trying to do stuff … Let Evan Mobley do bag work.”

At the heart of this paradox is the delicate balance between Donovan Mitchell’s win-at-all-costs mentality and the critical developmental needs of potential franchise cornerstone Evan Mobley.

The podcast conversation highlighted how these competing priorities could create productive tension throughout the season.

“Is that the best process on a per possession basis? No, it isn’t,” Watkins continued. “Is it really, really, really good and important for Evan Mobley’s personal development? Yes, it is. And I think that’s where the beginning of the season should tilt.”

This approach flies directly in the face of Mitchell’s natural competitive instincts.

The six-time All-Star guard has built his career on taking over games, particularly in critical moments. But the podcast discussion suggested that for the Cavaliers to reach their championship ceiling, Mitchell may need to intentionally suppress these instincts at times.

“Donovan has a great sense of [when to take over],” Watkins explained. “He has to ignore those instincts a little bit. It’s going to be like it’s all counterintuitive, but I think that’s all really important for what the Cavs are trying to do. Big picture.”

Cleveland.com Cavs beat reporter Chris Fedor reinforced this perspective, noting that the organization needs to embrace a longer view: “If it benefits them in the long term to have some short term pain or some struggle throughout the course of the journey that can be healthy and that can be beneficial to them.”

The conversation draws fascinating parallels to championship teams of the past.

Fedor recounted how LeBron James once deliberately stepped back during a game to teach Kyrie Irving that his isolation-heavy approach wouldn’t lead to championship success – a tough lesson that ultimately helped shape Irving into a championship-caliber player.

While Mitchell doesn’t need to go to such dramatic lengths, the podcast discussion emphasized that his willingness to sacrifice short-term heroics for long-term development could be the key to unlocking Cleveland’s full potential.

The early-season absence of injured guards Darius Garland and Max Strus creates a natural opportunity for this developmental approach.

Without these key contributors, the Cavaliers will need to reimagine their offensive hierarchy – presenting the perfect chance for Mobley to take a more central role, even if it leads to some growing pains.

As the Wine and Gold prepare for training camp, this tension between winning now and developing for the future will be closely watched. Mitchell’s approach to this balance – knowing when to take over and when to step back – could ultimately define Cleveland’s season more than any statistical contribution.

For Cavs fans, this means embracing a nuanced perspective on the upcoming season. Some early losses might actually represent progress if they come in service of Mobley’s development into the franchise cornerstone many believe he can become.

Here’s the podcast for this week:

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