CLEVELAND, Ohio — Donovan Mitchell is the face of the Cavs’ franchise. Inside the organization, they call him “President,” a nickname earned not just by stature or scoring totals, but by the way he carries himself.

He’s the one who shows up when the lights are bright, whether on the floor or in the press room. He leads by example by competing with teammates on who can show up at the gym first for practice or recovery. He’s also the one who walks into the interview room, win or lose, searching for the words and answers that explain what just happened on the floor.

But Sunday night was different. After Cleveland’s 117-115 loss to the Boston Celtics , Mitchell never made that familiar walk.

Instead, he sat at his locker and stared into a kind of emotional quiet that felt larger than the

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