There’s intimate data hooked up to New York’s scouting reviews on Donovan Mitchell.
Johnnie Bryant, the Knicks affiliate head coach, has a deep and documented historical past with Mitchell, who has credited the event guru with lifting him into stardom with the Utah Jazz.
The connection is such that Bryant’s rent with the Knicks in 2020 intensified rumors that Mitchell would wind up in orange and blue, which practically grew to become actuality earlier than Jazz president Danny Ainge opted for Cleveland’s commerce package deal.
Now they’re on reverse sides in a playoff sequence, and Immanuel Quickley smiled wryly when requested if Bryant’s historical past with Mitchell provides the Knicks an edge in preparation.
“I ain’t going to speak on that,” Quickley stated.
But does it assist?
“Yeah, definitely.”
Bryant labored as a Jazz assistant underneath Quin Snyder from 2014 to 2020, serving as Mitchell’s private progress coach. It’s protected to imagine he is aware of Mitchell’s tendencies.
As Mitchell advised The Athletic earlier than Bryant left for New York, “I love him to death, man. He’s a guy who wants me to be the best. I met him in Summer League, and I had already heard a lot about him. In three years, he’s pushed me past my limits. He doesn’t tell me what I want to hear. He tells me what I need to hear. I just can’t say enough about him and how much he’s helped me.”
After Bryant transferred to the Knicks, he reset Julius Randle towards a second All-Star look and pushed Quickley to a brand new stage.
“I don’t know if there’s anybody in the league better than him as far as really a lot of stuff,” Quickley stated. “I really feel like I’m a excessive IQ participant, however I study one thing day by day that I’m with him, that we watch movie, when I’ve a query. He’s one of many smartest coaches I’ve ever been round.
“[He helps me out with] everything. Mental, physical, spiritual. Me and him, spiritual level, everything. In any aspect of life, I can pretty much hit him up on everything.”
Bryant isn’t the one connection to Mitchell. Josh Hart, who will undoubtedly draw the project of guarding the All-Star, developed a friendship via Mitchell’s longtime buddy, Eric Paschall.
Paschall and Hart have been teammates at Villanova, and that translated to a long-lasting bond.
“I was on Facetime with [Mitchell] earlier,” Hart stated. “We have the same barber, have to make sure the barber was there so I can get a fresh cut. It’s exciting because that’s someone I’ve known for the last seven years. Someone who I’ve watched grow in the league. Someone who has a great personality, a high character kid. So it’ll be fun. We play video games together. We talk trash. Those kind of things. Hang out.”
Still, there are boundaries to friendship.
“Don has a thing. He doesn’t get dinner with any opposing players who are in his city,” Hart stated. “So I’m going to do the same.”
So the Knicks are skipping the dinner and heading proper to the film. Or, the movie classes with Bryant.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com