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Rick Pitino, who coached Utah Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell in Louisville for two years, believes that after trade rumors linking him to the Big Apple , Mitchell “would love to be the New York Knicks.”
“Donovan’s dad works for the Mets and his mom apparently works for Greenwich National Day,” current Io. The men’s basketball head coach said in response to questions on a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday from The New York Post .
“Donovan loves the Knicks, Donovan loves being with his mom, his sister, his dad . Donovan trains for Chris Brickley and he also plays for me in New York City,” Pitino added.
“Donovan would cherish, he would love to be the New York Knicks. But having said that, things have to work out. I hope, I keep my fingers crossed, he becomes the Knicks. As his coach, seeing him wearing The Knicks uniform, as a former Knicks coach, will be very special to me.”
Marc Uncle of the Post Mann reported Sunday that there has been a “back and forth update” about Mitchell between the Jazz and the Knicks. Utah initially asked the Knicks for a package of seven first-round picks and three-time All-Stars.
On Monday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Knicks were “incentivized” to acquire Mitchell and offered new deals to the Jazz ‘s proposal. However, the deal is not considered “imminent”.
“New York recently offered Evan Fournier, Obi Toppin, additional salary and Two unprotected first-round picks (five in total) and Tony Jones of the Athletics,” Charania wrote. “The Jazz’s asking price is more important than that.” The Jazz have experienced a great front office, coaches and Roster changes. Former Celtics president Danny Ainge is now alternate governor and CEO. Head coach Quin Snyder parted ways with the Jazz, with former Boston assistant Will Hardy taking over. Defensive perennial All-Star center Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the offseason. Now Mitchell can move. Trading him for a near-full rebuild in Utah should have a treasure trove of first-round picks to work with. Bringing Mitchell into the team should make the Knicks a definitive playoff team, although they may have more work to do to compete with the Eastern Conference’s elite teams.
Still, bringing Mitchell back to New York appears to be a top priority for the Knicks, with the former Lewis reportedly The Vail Cardinals star wants to see this happen with the remarks of his former college coach.
