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TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 24: Sam Mitchell, interim head coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves, talks to … [+]
Sam Mitchell, the former NBA Coach of the Year with the Toronto Raptors, will train the new NBA G League “Select Team” to feature Jalen Green, sources confirmed.
Former NBA head coaches David Fizdale and Brian Shaw have also been linked to the team, and a source said he would not be surprised if they had a role with “Team Select.”
The Mitchell news was first reported by Sportando. Mitchell has already coached the 6-foot-5-inch Green on an Adidas youth team and also recruited him to the University of Memphis. Green, a potential No. 1 pick in the NBA 2021 Draft, announced last Thursday that he will resign from college to join the NBA G League’s new route, where he will reportedly win $ 500,000 for a shortened season of 20 games on a Los Angeles-based team Yahoo Sports reported that the Mamba Sports Academy, launched by Kobe Bryant and located in Thousand Oaks, California, could serve as a base of operations for the new team.
The new G-League track allows the NBA to control the ability to evaluate young American stars like Green and others, while last year American teen stars LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton played in both the Australian NBL and the G-League, which then offered a maximum salary of $ 125,000 to a select group of high school players.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 18: Team Zion’s Jalen Green # 14 plunges before the game against Team … [+]
Mitchell, 56, had a 185-242 record as NBA head coach with the Raptors and Timberwolves. He was the 2007 NBA Coach of the Year with Toronto. He recently served as an assistant coach under Penny Hardaway in Memphis in 2018-19.
Mitchell’s hiring has yet to be announced by the NBA G League, but during an interview with ESPN’s Seth Greenberg and Amin Elhassan and Albert Hall of the NBA Summer League, he consistently referred to the team as “us.”
“Some of these kids are ready, some of these kids don’t want to go to school, they want to be professionals,” said Mitchell. “They want that lifestyle, and that’s what we’re going to teach them.”
Mitchell said the goal was to teach young players like Green, former Michigan player Isaiah Todd and anyone else who joins the team, including Texas forward Greg Brown and others, “life skills” and “skills professionals”.
“There are many things to being a professional in addition to being able to dribble, shoot and pass,” said Mitchell. “How do you manage playtime? All these children will not be the number 1 player on their team when they are recruited the first day. And being on this team, the way it’s going to be built, they will have to learn all of these things.
“Yes, it is because of their development, because of their growth, but it will also teach them many life skills and professional skills that they will need to navigate the NBA if they want a long career.”
Mitchell referenced “The Last Dance,” which averaged 6.1 million viewers on Sunday night on ESPN, and how the Chicago Bulls finally learned to play team basketball with Michael Jordan. He said that would be one of the main objectives of the new “Select Team”.
“The coach is there to improve these kids, not just these little kids, but the boys who make up the veterans on that list,” Mitchell said. “It is for everyone to improve. And it will make you uncomfortable the way coaches go to train, it is about team basketball.”
NORWALK, CA – June 02: Isaiah Todd of Trinity Academy goes up for a dunk during the Pangos … [+]
In addition to former high school stars, the G-League “Select Team” will feature a series of older veterans who will coach younger players during an abbreviated 20-game schedule. Regular G League teams play a 50 game schedule.
“There are a lot of professionals who are trying to return to the league who are 25, 26, 27 years old because of injuries and other things that are happening in their career,” Mitchell said.
“So we are going to try to complete the rest of the list with boys who know how to play, boys who know how to be mentors, but also boys who can teach them how to play and how to win and how to win.” be a pro. So they will try to surround these children with different types of players, the type of players they will have to play with on a team. Some of these boys will be lucky enough to go to a team where they will really be the man on a team and some of these boys will be on a team where they will have to learn how to fit in. So they are going to mix these teams with different types of players with different types of backgrounds. It won’t be just a group of high school kids. There will be some professionals on these teams because you must have veteran boys to help show these kids the way, teach them how to be a professional. So we will be very selective with the players they choose to accompany them. There will be guys who spent a minute in the NBA, who understand what the NBA is about and want to have a chance to come back as well. “
Mitchell said there is also something in this for veterans.
“I say this to all veteran players,” he said. “The recruiters from the university came to see my teammate, but they ended up signing me. So all I know is that if someone is there to see Jalen Green, there is also an opportunity for someone to see them. “
If the NBA’s rule and one clears up in 2022, high school stars like Green will be able to jump right into the NBA. At that time, League G will not be able to draw the highest echelon of high school players. But for now, Mitchell hopes to train the cream of the crop from high school and prepare them for life in the NBA.
