Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell looks up to New York Knicks‘ associate head coach Johnnie Bryant as his brother. But he also drew the line on the sand once their teams forged a first-round showdown in the NBA Playoffs.
“I haven’t talked to him in a while,” Mitchell said, referring to Bryant after the Cavaliers’ final practice on Friday. “That’s family, though. That’s like my brother. Blood wouldn’t make us any closer. But his wife texted both of us this morning. I had to ignore it. I love his kids like family. I’ve been to his house a million times, but right now, it’s time to go.”
Mitchell developed a strong bond with Bryant during his first three seasons in the NBA at Utah.
Bryant climbed the NBA coaching ranks, starting as a player development coach, and took the then-underrated rookie Mitchell under his wings in 2017.
Undersized at 6-foot-1 but gifted with a 6-foot-10 wing span, Mitchell blossomed into a perennial All-Star with the help of Bryant’s player development program. So it’s a bittersweet moment for Mitchell to face the Knicks, his hometown team, which came close to trading for him last summer, but more so against Bryant in the playoffs for the first time.
“I said it when I first got here,” Mitchell said. “It’s a full-circle moment. Life this year especially has been a full-circle moment for me. We’re playing the Knicks, playing the hometown team, and the stuff from the summer. I’m playing against an associate head coach in Johnnie Bryant, who I don’t know if you guys know this, but like what you guys see, the product of who I am, is from him. You know, he’s been there from day one and helped me grow into who I am today. And, you know, there’s a lot of full-circle moments and it’s what makes basketball fun, makes sports fun.”
Ricky Rubio Praises Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau
Ricky Rubio, who played for Tom Thibodeau for one year in Minnesota during the 2016-17 season, can attest to the current Knicks coach’s evolution.
“When I played for him, he was that defensive coach, but he had a lot of good offense out there too as well,” Rubio said on the eve of the first-round series between his team, Cleveland Cavaliers and Thibodeau’s Knicks.
“I think he’s a complete coach,” Rubio added. “You can tell now with the Knicks. He’s been doing a great job. I know he wants to play defense, play hard defense, but the offense is working. And he learned, of course, like everybody else in the league, he learned through the years how to be better.”
So he wasn’t surprised as Thibodeau made the Knicks an offensive juggernaut this season. The Knicks are tied for third in offense with the Philadelphia 76ers entering the playoffs.
Mavs Fined for Tanking, Trying to Keep Knicks Pick
The Dallas Mavericks drew a $750,000 fine for their blatant tanking, which increased their chances of keeping their pick from conveying to the Knicks as the final payment for the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
“The Dallas Mavericks’ decision to restrict key players from fully participating in an elimination game last Friday against Chicago undermined the integrity of our sport,” NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars said in an official statement. “The Mavericks’ actions failed our fans and our league.”
By bowing out with the 10th-best lottery odds, the Mavericks now have a 65.9% chance of keeping their pick, according to Tankathon. The Knicks’ chances of getting the Mavericks’ pick decreased to 19%.
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Cavs Star Donovan Mitchell Sounds off on Knicks Associate Head Coach Johnnie Bryant