Johnnie Bryant is reuniting with Donovan Mitchell, but not in the way the Knicks imagined.
Bryant, the Knicks associate head coach for the last four seasons, is leaving to join the Cavaliers for the same position under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, a source confirmed.
Bryant had worked closely with Mitchell as an assistant with the Jazz.
His 2020 hiring by the Knicks — which was facilitated, according to a source, through executive William Wesley — was seen as a way to entice the All-Star guard to New York.
Instead, Mitchell was traded from the Jazz to the Cavaliers in 2022 and recently signed a three-year max extension.
“I love [Bryant] to death, man,” Mitchell told The Athletic before Bryant went to the Knicks. “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 [with the Jazz], 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.”
Bryant was popular with former Knick Immanuel Quickley, who called the assistant “one of the smartest coaches I’ve been around.”
Julius Randle credited Bryant with helping him through an offseason mental makeover that led to a 2023 All-NBA selection.
Bryant also had a strong connection with former Knick Alec Burks from their seasons together in Utah.
Burks signed with the Heat in free agency.
Thibodeau still has the assistants he hired and feels most comfortable with — including Darren Erman, Rick Brunson, Daniel Brady and Andy Greer.
The staff has undergone some changes since Thibodeau took over in 2020. Bryant, Mike Woodson and Kenny Payne all left to take jobs elsewhere. Mo Cheeks joined this summer.
The Cavaliers fired J.B. Bickerstaff after a second-round playoff elimination and hired Atkinson, the former Nets coach.
Bryant also interviewed for the head coaching job in Cleveland.
It’s unclear if Atkinson and Bryant have a relationship, but the connection to Mitchell spoke the loudest with this move.
ESPN first reported Bryant’s leaving the Knicks for the Cavs.
