Donovan Mitchell "unsettled and unnerved" in Utah?

The Knicks paying the price to acquire Donovan Mitchell would likely decimate the franchise's future.

I hope everyone had a refreshing weekend. Let's catch up on some Knicks Notes:

* Word broke late Sunday that Quin Snyder, who had served as the head coach in Utah for the past eight seasons, was stepping down. 

Shortly thereafter, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a Woj bomb, reporting that Donovan Mitchell was "unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise's future." According to Woj, Mitchell considered Snyder a "significant part of his reasoning" for committing to a five-year extension in 2020. Woj added that Snyder's decision "has left Mitchell surprised and disappointed" and that Mitchell is "spending the immediate aftermath of Snyder's decision trying to process what the coach's loss means in the larger scope for the organization and himself."

The Knicks will obviously keep a close eye on the situation, but it's important to remember that Mitchell still has four years left on his current contract. As I wrote last week, word is the Jazz plan to commit to Mitchell fully and will likely attempt to assuage Donovan by trading away Rudy Gobert. In addition, even if Mitchell demanded a trade, other teams would probably be able to trump the Knicks' best offer.

Tony Jones of The Athletic reported Sunday night that multiple teams have called Utah to inquire about Mitchell's availability, but the Jazz have responded with a "firm no." Jones adds that Utah has "made it clear they intend on building a roster around Mitchell. The only thing that could possibly pry Mitchell from the Jazz at this point is a monstrous offer. They simply don't have the intention of trading him."

Furthermore, considering Mitchell's deteriorating play on the defensive end, it's not a given New York would be willing to gut their franchise to bring him in. Nor should it be; Mitchell is a young stud with New York roots, but paying the price to acquire him (via a "monstrous offer") could decimate the franchise's future. The Jazz are just 2-8 in their last ten playoff games, and that's with Micthell surrounded by three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, max-money PG Mike Conley, an 18 PPG scorer in Bojan Bogdanović, a solid 3-and-D wing in Royce O'Neale and Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson coming off the bench. 

It's difficult to envision Mitchell having a ton of success on a barren roster in New York. 

Interestingly, Knicks assistant coach Johnny Bryant, who worked for the Jazz and had a close relationship with Mitchell before being hired by New York, is expected to interview for the head coaching gig in Utah. 

* Brunson (not that one) headed to New York? 
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau reportedly plans to add Rick Brunson to his staff as an assistant coach.

The report caused a stir on many a #KnicksTwitter thread because Brunson is the father of Mavs' point guard Jalen Brunson, whom the Knicks are expected to target in free agency this summer. However, it's important to point out that Thibs and Rick have a relationship that dates back decades. The elder Brunson played for the Knicks under Thibodeau when Thibs was an assistant on Pat Riley's and Jeff Van Gundy's staff in the mid-1990s. After his playing career ended, Rick served as an assistant coach under Thibodeau in Minnesota and Chicago during Thibs' days with the Wolves and Bulls. According to SNY's Ian Begley, "Thibodeau and Brunson first met in Salem, Mass., when Thibodeau coached at Salem State and Brunson was a McDonald's All-American at Salem High School. Brunson and Thibodeau played in the same Salem outdoor men's summer league (Thibodeau played on a team that included some of his Salem State players). Brunson also worked out with Salem State players during Thibodeau's tenure."

In addition, Brunson also has a preexisting relationship with current Knicks team president Leon Rose. Rick was one of Rose's first NBA clients when Rose became a player agent with Creative Artists Agency (CAA). 

Thus, although it's certainly uncommon for a team to hire the father of a pending free agent, we shouldn't read too much into this move in regards to New York's chances of adding Jalen. In his Substack, Marc Stein reports Dallas is still confident they will re-sign Brunson. "There is no grave concern bubbling (yet) in Dallas about the Knicks' hiring of Jalen Brunson's father Rick to join Tom Thibodeau's coaching staff," per Stein.

Thibs purportedly wanted Rick on his staff when the head coach was initially hired back in 2020, but some members of upper management reportedly had concerns about the circumstances surrounding Brunson's departure from Minnesota in 2018. Brunson resigned as an assistant coach with the Wolves following allegations of improper conduct toward women while on the job. According to The Athletic, the Timberwolves "ultimately determined that Brunson was not meeting the standards set by the franchise for its employees."

Brunson, via his attorney, denied any wrongdoing, telling the New York Daily News: "Contrary to erroneous reports, there have been no findings of any wrongdoing by Rick as any proper investigation by the Timberwolves would have shown."

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Continuing with the "The Top 75 Knicks of All Time" series, here are the final two entries before cracking the top-10.

12. Charles Oakley
His numbers don't jump out at you, and his stats won't compare to many others on the top-75 list, but Oakley is one of those players whose true value was never measured by statistics alone. Oak was genuinely beloved by Knicks fans in the 1990s due to his blue-collar work ethic and tenacious effort on a nightly basis. Hard-nosed defense and rebounding were Oakley's calling cards. He ranks 10th all-time in NBA history in offensive rebounds, one spot behind Hakeem Olajuwon and one spot ahead of Tim Duncan. In 1994, he became an NBA All-Star and was named to the league's All-Defensive First Team. Unfortunately, Oak has sullied his reputation a bit in the past few years. In an effort to promote sales of his book, Oakley ridiculously claimed Pat Ewing cost the Knicks a chance at a title because "Patrick played the way he wanted to play." Oak claimed, "you gotta be a guy with the IQ to know that when you get double-teamed, you're supposed to pass the ball out." (Hating on Patrick will not be tolerated in this newsletter). Oakley also recently claimed that Giannis Antetokounmpo wouldn't be good enough to start if he played in the 90s and would only be a reserve. 

11. Earl Monroe
Monroe, who famously averaged 41.5 points per game as a senior at Winston-Salem State University, enjoyed his greatest individual success in the NBA as a member of the Baltimore Bullets. He averaged 23.7 ppg for Baltimore over the first four years of his career. Then, on Nov. 10, 1971, the Knicks traded Mike Riordan, Dave Stallworth and cash to obtain Monroe. Pearl adjusted his game to fit in alongside Clyde once he arrived in NYC. Monroe averaged just 20.6 minutes per game that first season in New York (due partly to nagging knee injuries) and scored only 11.4 PPG. However, the following season, his first full campaign in New York. Monroe upped that average to 15.5 points per contest and played a crucial role in helping to carry the Knicks' to their second championship in 73. The Pearl would later average over 20 ppg in 1974-75 and 1975-76.