Donovan Mitchell

Having already agreed to trade one of their stars, the Utah Jazz don't plan on losing both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell this offseason.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Jazz "plan to retool the roster" around Donovan Mitchell after striking a deal to send Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

On June 5, Wojnarowski reported Mitchell was "surprised and disappointed" upon learning head coach Quin Snyder stepped down. While the three-time All-Star hadn't gone so far as to request a trade, his future in Utah suddenly looked a little murky.

Rather than triggering a total rebuild, trading Gobert to Minnesota could be a way for the Jazz to send a message to Mitchell about their continued commitment to him.

Draft picks obviously won't help Utah win in the short term, and the combined contributions of Beasley, Beverley, Kessler, Vanderbilt and Bolmaro likely won't get the team any closer to a title.

From that aspect, Mitchell might not be all that impressed with the overall haul. The return might, however, give the Jazz more flexibility to swing another major trade.

Arizona Sports' Josh Gambadoro reported they're interested in Phoenix Suns big man Deandre Ayton, who'd need to be acquired in a sign-and-trade. They now have the draft assets and salary filler necessary to make something like that happen.

What's clear is that the Gobert trade alone can't be Utah's only offseason business if it truly does intend to make Mitchell the lone centerpiece for now. The franchise has taken a step backward with some glaring flaws that need to be addressed.

The structure of the Jazz roster is bound to look a lot different on opening night this fall.

The Miami Heat are reportedly trying to make a bold move to improve their roster this offseason.

Per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News, Miami has prepared a deal for the Utah Jazz in hopes of landing star guard Donovan Mitchell.

"The Heat are a more likely landing spot for Donovan Mitchell and have furnished a trade offer to the Utah Jazz," Winfield wrote.

There appears to be mutual interest from Mitchell's end, as Winfield noted that he has a desire to play in Miami.

"In an April 2022 episode of the Certified Buckets podcast, New York City hip-hop legend Fat Joe told me he is close to Mitchell and that Mitchell’s dream is playing for Miami, not his hometown Knicks," Winfield wrote.

Mitchell has reportedly been frustrated in Utah for quite some time. He raised eyebrows Monday by posting the image of a song titled "Let Me Go" on his Instagram story. This month when former Utah head coach Quin Snyder resigned, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Mitchell was "unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise's future."

A three-time All-Star, Mitchell is one of the most promising young players in the NBA. The 25-year-old has averaged over 20 points in each of his five seasons in the league and hasn't missed the playoffs in his career.

The Heat had the best record in the Eastern Conference last season but fell in the conference finals to the Boston Celtics. Miami has a deep roster, but some players struggled throughout the postseason as Jimmy Butler was the team's only player to average more than 15 points per game in the playoffs.

Adding a player of Mitchell's caliber would surely help the Heat return to title contention.

The 2022 NBA draft is done, but the roster changes are just getting started this offseason.

Few teams could be in for a bigger overhaul than the Utah Jazz, which already lost head coach Quin Snyder after he stepped down earlier this month following eight seasons.

That left the future of star player Donovan Mitchell in question as well, considering ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the guard was "surprised and disappointed" about the departure of Snyder.

Wojnarowski also described Mitchell as "unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise's future."

Simply running things back with the core of Mitchell and Rudy Gobert probably wouldn't mean a championship in that future. After all, the Jazz did not advance past the second round of the playoffs despite making the postseason in each of Snyder's last six seasons. That includes a second-round loss in 2020-21 when they finished with the best record in the NBA at 52-20.

In addition to the clear ceiling in place, there have been multiple reports of tension between the two star players and no shortage of rumors about whether one or both will be traded.

Sean O'Connell of SiriusXM reported in May that Gobert reached a "him or me" point with Mitchell, while Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported in June that Utah has "been one of the more active teams during early offseason trade conversations."

Fischer noted many of those discussions were about Gobert since "Utah has not entertained rival teams' overtures to steal away All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell."

The big man seems the more likely trade candidate than Mitchell, who is still just 25 years old and a franchise cornerstone under contract through 2024-25 with a player option for 2025-26. He has the offensive skill set to be a go-to option for years to come, while the defensive-minded Gobert is limited on that end of the floor and someone who is ideally surrounded by other elite talent.

That means teams with impressive offensive guards who need help on the defensive side should be seen as the most likely landing spots for Gobert.

Enter the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls.

Fischer mentioned both Eastern Conference squads as teams that were interested in the 29-year-old, and it's not difficult to see why. Chicago has a two-time All-Star big man in Nikola Vucevic it could include in the deal and would immediately bolster the interior defense.

If the Bulls do end up bringing back Zach LaVine, they will need a rim-protector like Gobert since DeMar DeRozan and LaVine are not exactly renowned for their shutdown defense on the wings.

Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso are better known for their defense, but they both dealt with health issues last season and may not be on the floor together as often given the importance of LaVine and DeRozan to the offensive attack.

Chicago also went perimeter with its only pick of Thursday's NBA draft when it selected Arizona's Dalen Terry at No. 18 overall.

Atlanta also has an All-Star on the perimeter who isn't an all-world defender in the shape of Trae Young.

While the 23-year-old can carry the team to victory on any given night with his outside shooting and overall offensive game, the Hawks would be much better with someone like Gobert to help cover for his defensive mistakes.

Like the Bulls, the Hawks didn't load up down low in Thursday's draft either and went with a wing in Duke's AJ Griffin (No. 16).

Atlanta and Chicago are also looking to take another step into the discussion of serious Eastern Conference contenders and could be in "buy" mode with the chance to land a three-time Defensive Player of the Year down low.

As for Mitchell, a pair of Eastern Conference teams also stand out as potential destinations even if the Jazz reportedly aren't interested in trading him.

It was clear throughout the Eastern Conference Finals that Jimmy Butler could use some offensive help if the Miami Heat are going to take the next step and win a championship.

Kyle Lowry is past his prime, and Mitchell would give the Heat a third All-Star-caliber player alongside Butler and Bam Adebayo in the Eastern Conference race.

Elsewhere, the New York Knicks are further from a championship than Miami but could use a star player in a major market desperate for a contender. They also landed multiple picks in draft-day trades that may be used in future moves.

New York has won one playoff series since the 1999-2000 season and took a step back in 2021-22 after reaching the postseason the prior campaign. Mitchell would give the team its best player since Carmelo Anthony and someone who could actually lead it deeper into the playoffs.

The Utah Jazz are reportedly open for business on the trade market this offseason.

Tony Jones of The Athletic reported Sunday that every player on the roster minus Donovan Mitchell—yes, including Rudy Gobert—has "some sort of availability on the trade market." Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic are expected to garner "significant interest" from other teams this summer.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Mitchell is "unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise's future" after head coach Quin Snyder announced his resignation over the weekend. Speculation about Mitchell's desire to remain in Utah over the long term has been rampant in recent years, thanks in large part to his at-times-contentious relationship with Gobert.

The two Jazz All-Stars famously had a falling out in 2020 after Mitchell felt Gobert showed a lack of care early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Gobert was the first NBA player diagnosed with the coronavirus in March 2020, and Mitchell tested positive not long after.

There were reports at the time that the relationship between the two was "unsalvageable," but Gobert and Mitchell hashed out their issues and led the Jazz to a No. 1 seed in the West during the 2020-21 season.

That said, the fissure between the two seemed to reopen throughout this season. Gobert seemingly called out Mitchell for a lack of defensive commitment when praising other guards around the league, most notably Devin Booker, for their work to get better on that end.

"Sometimes I can be clumsy with what I say, but I always speak my mind and it always comes from a place of wanting to win," Gobert later told reporters. "Like I said to Don privately, everything that I do on the court is to help him be better.

"All the things that I do to get him open, to communicate with him, to try to push him defensively. Whether it's Donovan or all my teammates, all the things I do is to help them be better."

While Mitchell tersely avoided responding in kind at the time, he later threw his own subliminal quote in Gobert's direction in the playoffs, saying the Jazz defense picked up when Eric Paschall, rather than Gobert, was on the floor.

Even as we live in a world of rampant rumors, there's enough smoke here to believe there's legitimate tension between Mitchell and Gobert. Snyder's departure isn't likely to smooth things over, given he was a major reason Mitchell committed to the Jazz on a long-term contract extension, per Wojnarowski.

Trading Gobert would be a seismic move that would arguably reveal some of the flaws in Mitchell's game. Some of the reason Gobert tends to get exposed by perimeter-oriented big men in the playoffs is because he's forced to help off when Mitchell's man blows by him off the dribble. There's a reason why he has three Defensive Player of the Year trophies on his mantle.

That said, trading Bogdanovic isn't the type of move that would suddenly shift the culture. He's a solid role player and floor-spacer, but the Jazz's main issue appears to be a personality conflict between their two stars.

Suffice it to say it'll be an interesting offseason.

For now, the Utah Jazz don't appear to be entertaining offers for star guard Donovan Mitchell.

The Athletic's Tony Jones reported Sunday that multiple teams have reached out to Utah to ask about Mitchell's availability, "only to be given a firm no."

"The Jazz have made it clear they intend on building a roster around Mitchell," Jones wrote. "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."

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday that Mitchell was "unsettled" and "unnerved" following the resignation of head coach Quin Snyder.

That has added another layer to an already cloudy future for a franchise that figured to be reshuffling this offseason. Following a third first-round playoff exit in four years, the Jazz clearly need to change some things in order to avoid a similar fate in 2022-23.

Part of that strategy could include trading one of their foundational pieces—just not Mitchell. Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported May 31 the team was "weighing trade possibilities" involving Rudy Gobert.

In the summer of 2019, the Oklahoma City Thunder were facing a similar dilemma as they were coming off a third straight loss in the first round. Whatever plans they had to improve in the short term were quickly dashed when Paul George requested and was granted a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne described Thunder general manager Sam Presti as "stunned" when George first reached out with the request.

With George gone, Russell Westbrook was shipped out soon after, and the Thunder were forced to rebuild from the ground up.

In the wake of Wojnarowski's report on Mitchell, it's not implausible that the Jazz could have an equally rapid reversal of fortunes. Unlike with Oklahoma City, though, Utah trading away one of its two stars could placate rather than alienate the other.

As much as the team tried to play down any friction between Mitchell and Gobert, they simply didn't appear to be on the same page. Even though Gobert isn't a dynamic offensive presence, it's difficult to justify how Mitchell would only look his way 2.3 times per game, according to NBA.com.

Persisting with this partnership might be a recipe for disaster.

Trading Gobert and improving their lot—or at least maintaining their current level—will be difficult for the Jazz.

The Frenchman is owed $123 million over the next three seasons and has a $46.7 million player option for 2025-26. That's a steep price to pay for a more traditional center who doesn't space the floor, thus giving interested suitors some leverage in negotiations.

But jettisoning Gobert would also send a message to Mitchell that he's the unquestioned face of the franchise moving forward. That might be enough to keep him happy for the time being, thus allowing Utah to avoid a painful teardown.

Longtime Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder resigned on Sunday, and in the immediate aftermath ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that star guard Donovan Mitchell was "unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise's future."

That called into question whether Mitchell was unhappy in Utah and would potentially seek a change of scenery this summer. The Jazz, of course, could always involve Mitchell in the process to hire the next head coach in an effort to keep him happy.

If they go that route, NBA writer Marc Stein reported on Monday that one name to keep an eye on is New York Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant:

Bryant, meanwhile, is a known favorite of Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, but [CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge's] appetite for putting Mitchell's interests first is in question after Utah catered heavily to Mitchell (trading for his childhood friend Eric Paschall and revamping the athletic training staff to Mitchell's specifications) before Ainge's hiring on Dec. 15. Mitchell has three guaranteed seasons left on his contract before a $37.1 million player option in 2025-26.

Snyder's departure brings with it a number of questions around the Jazz, from whether there are deeper internal problems in the team to if the Jazz, led by Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, have simply reached their natural ceiling and require more sweeping changes to be a true title contender.

Snyder, for his part, said he simply felt like he wasn't the right man to steer the ship going forward.

"At the core, and what drives me every day is our players and their passion for the game, their desire to constantly work to improve and their dedication to the team and the Jazz. I strongly feel they need a new voice to continue to evolve," Snyder said in the statement announcing his decision to step down. "That's it. No philosophical differences, no other reason. After eight years, I just feel it is time to move onward. I needed to take time to detach after the season and make sure this was the right decision."

Per Woj, "Mitchell considered Snyder a significant part of his reasoning for committing to a five-year maximum contract extension in 2020, and Snyder's decision to step away on Sunday has left Mitchell 'surprised and disappointed,' sources told ESPN."

Bryant, 36, served as an assistant on Snyder's staff between the 2014-15 and 2019-20 seasons, before making the move to the Knicks ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. He spent three seasons with Mitchell in Utah, and that familiarity could play a factor in Bryant's potential candidacy.

Charania reported Sunday that Bryant was one of the initial candidates, along with Jazz assistant Alex Jensen, former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, Boston Celtics assistant coach Will Hardy and Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin.

Marc Berman of the New York Post added that former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel "also could command a look" for the Jazz.

The general sense of unease within the Utah Jazz isn't tied solely to the departure of head coach Quin Snyder.

The team announced Sunday that Snyder was leaving effectively immediately. Shortly after the news, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Donovan Mitchell is "unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise's future."

"Mitchell considered Snyder a significant part of his reasoning for committing to a five-year maximum contract extension in 2020, and Snyder's decision to step away on Sunday has left Mitchell 'surprised and disappointed,' sources told ESPN," per Wojnarowski.

Many assumed some changes were on the horizon for the Jazz after they lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third time in four years. Utah failed to advance past the conference semifinals under Snyder.

In a statement addressing his decision, Snyder said he believed the Jazz "need a new voice to continue to evolve" and that there wasn't an inciting factor that led him to walk away.

The question now becomes how much more turnover Utah will have this offseason.

It's never good when a star player is questioning the franchise's direction, but Wojnarowski's report may not be cause for panic.

There's no guarantee the Jazz will find someone better than Snyder, but it seemed pretty clear they went as far as they could with him at the helm. One way to view Mitchell's reaction is not necessarily that he's looking for an exit but instead wants to provide plenty of input on possible coaching targets.

Perhaps the biggest roster move Utah could make in order to placate Mitchell—trading Rudy Gobert—is already under consideration, too. Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported on May 31 the Jazz "are weighing trade possibilities," though conversations inside and outside of the team remain about whether that's the best course of action.

Mitchell is a three-time All-Star who's in the prime of his career. The 25-year-old is averaging 23.9 points and 4.5 assists and shooting 44.1 percent from the floor through his first five seasons.

If Mitchell were to request a trade, then plenty of contenders would almost certainly line up to throw their best offer at Utah.

This isn't a particularly deep free-agent class coming up, and Mitchell has three more years left on his current deal before he can opt out. Those two factors would give the Jazz a lot of leverage at the bargaining table.

Snyder's resignation wasn't totally unexpected but surprising nonetheless. It's only natural that Mitchell would be taken aback a bit in the immediate aftermath. For now, it might be too early to start building hypothetical trades sending him out of Utah.

As the NBA offseason continues for all teams outside of Golden State and Boston, one of the more intriguing names to emerge in early league trade chatter has been Toronto Raptors swingman OG Anunoby.

Following a standout season from Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, word has circulated among rival front offices that Anunoby grew dissatisfied at times with his role in Toronto, where Barnes joined Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet as the primary ball-handlers in Nick Nurse's offense. 

Two sources with knowledge of the dynamic told B/R that Anunoby has not directly expressed discontent with his situation with the Raptors. Perhaps the conversation around him has been driven more by external interest in acquiring the fifth-year forward's services. 

Dating back to the trade deadline, sources said, the Raptors have postured with opposing teams that all of their "top six," including Anunoby, Barnes, Siakam, VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr. and Precious Achiuwa, are untouchable in trade conversation. But Toronto is also widely known to covet a starting center. The Raptors initially chased Jarrett Allen last summer. Then in February, Toronto flirted with Indiana about both Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis and contacted San Antonio about Jakob Poeltl. Landing a center of that caliber would almost certainly require the Raptors to sacrifice one of those purportedly untouchable players.

If Anunoby becomes available this offseason, expect a long list of interested suitors. Anunoby, 24, is a proven blue-chip prospect who already has deep postseason experience. He's also playing under a value contract, not even halfway through the four-year, $72 million extension he signed in 2020 (with a player option in 2024-25).

Two landing spots already linked by league personnel have been Utah and Portland.

The Jazz are weighing trade possibilities with three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, who NBA sources have pegged as one of Toronto's targets to satisfy its appetite for a starting rim-protector. While there's much debate both around the league and among Utah staffers about whether moving Gobert, the Jazz's true defensive lynchpin, is the most effective avenue to improving Utah's issues guarding on the perimeter, Anunoby would clearly pose as a tremendous addition for any team lacking on the wing.

To match Gobert's lofty salary, which will range from $38.2 million to $46.7 million between 2022-23 and 2025-26, Toronto would need to add another significant contract to Anunoby's average annual salary of $18 million. Including Trent, another two-way perimeter force, would make the math work, but that cost might be too rich for Toronto brass and would leave the Raptors with little proven shooting. Early word from league personnel has also suggested the Raptors value Siakam more than Gobert.

The Trail Blazers remain widely expected to pursue trade scenarios with the No. 7 pick in order to add a complementary veteran alongside All-NBA guard Damian Lillard, and Anunoby is believed to be one of their primary targets along with Jerami Grant.

Both contracts would fit into Portland's $20.9 million trade exception from the deal that sent CJ McCollum to New Orleans. There's a possibility Portland looks to create cap space to land a maximum-salary free agent such as Zach LaVine, but all indications point to the Blazers guaranteeing Josh Hart's $12.9 million for next season, which would likely negate a major free-agency signing. The deadline to guarantee Hart is June 25, two days after the NBA draft and nearly a week before free agency begins July 1.

Picking up Hart's money would require the Blazers to renounce their rights to free agents Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons in order to still create space for a major free-agent acquisition like LaVine. But Portland's most likely route to acquiring a splashy counterpart for Lillard is via trade exception, and Anunoby would be a home run addition in that scenario.

However, league personnel believe Toronto would require far more than Hart and the seventh pick to part with Anunoby, considered to be a darling of Raptors lead executive Masai Ujiri. Anunoby's trade value is seen as greater than Detroit's known asking price for Grant: two first-round picks or a first and a promising rookie-scale prospect.

New York Knicks' Point Guard Search 

League sources regularly mention New York's main offseason focus is to improve at the point guard position, but acquiring Utah's other All-Star, Donovan Mitchell, remains highly unlikely. Even if Mitchell were to ultimately request a trade from the Jazz, he still has three full years committed on his contract before a player option in 2025-26. Plus, there's healthy skepticism around the NBA that New York's best offer for Mitchell would trump other teams' pursuits, such as a potential package from Miami that would theoretically center around Tyler Herro plus other salary and multiple first-round picks.

In the meantime, there's a growing sense among league personnel that Jalen Brunson will return to Dallas following the Mavericks' sprint to the Western Conference Finals. After Dallas' defeat to Golden State, Mavericks governor Mark Cuban reaffirmed to Marc Stein the confidence team personnel have projected in keeping Brunson. Dallas indeed can offer him an additional fifth year and, therefore, more money than any rival, especially New York. With Brunson's next salary expected to exceed $20 million annually, perhaps John Collins' recent five-year, $125 million extension in Atlanta will be a good benchmark for Brunson to remain in Dallas.

The Knicks offering a comparable four-year rate would require notable cap-sheet changes. They already came close to sending out Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel at February's trade deadline to clear salary for a run at Brunson. At this point in the NBA calendar, to move off unwanted contracts, league executives believe New York would have to trade either the No. 11 pick in June's draft or promising point guard Immanuel Quickley to entice a rival team to take on any long-term salary.

But the Knicks can propose something to Brunson that Dallas cannot: an unquestioned role as the starting point guard and lead ball-handler. In Dallas, he will always serve as Luka Doncic's sidekick. The same would be the case in Detroit, where the Pistons are said to envision Brunson as a similar counterpart to Cade Cunningham. If Brunson desires to be the true table-setter of a team's offense, that would seem to be the one bird in New York's hand. 

Elsewhere in the point guard conversation, word of New York's interest in Purdue sophomore Jaden Ivey has been often repeated by league personnel. Ivey, though, is all but assured to be selected within the first six picks of the draft, where the Indiana Pacers are considered by several executives contacted by B/R as his floor.

As the Knicks work down the list of their point guard options, rival executives have pointed to Minnesota Timberwolves starter D'Angelo Russell as a potential lower-level trade target. New York's front office recently added former Minnesota president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, who once chased Russell in free agency and later traded Andrew Wiggins to Golden State for the creative point guard.

The Knicks are not expected to make a run at Collin Sexton, sources said. The Cavaliers have interest in keeping him, but finding a salary figure that extends the combo guard's tenure in Cleveland may be tricky, especially after the Cavs' 2021-22 success and the team's growing cap figure. Indiana, Detroit and Washington have all been mentioned as early potential landing spots for Sexton.

The Pistons, sources told B/R, are expected to use their cap space to acquire one impact player in the frontcourt and backcourt. While Brunson and Sexton are known as guards of real interest to fill that backcourt slot, Detroit is said to have an eye on Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, in addition to Phoenix Suns restricted free-agent big man Deandre Ayton.

Charlotte Hornets' Coaching Search

On the coaching front, Charlotte is the only team left with a vacancy after the Sacramento Kings hired Mike Brown and the Los Angeles Lakers named Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their next play-caller.

Ham was a finalist for the Hornets' opening and was scheduled to meet with Charlotte this Tuesday before agreeing on a four-year deal with the Lakers, sources said. The sitdown would have marked Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak's first development in his coaching search since spending the previous week in Los Angeles for agency workouts and pro days in advance of the draft. Kupchak's own multiyear contract extension, which he announced during a recent media availability, is for two more seasons, sources told B/R.

At this juncture, former Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni and Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson are widely believed to be the final names under serious consideration to replace James Borrego. No candidate has met with Charlotte principal governor Michael Jordan, sources said, believed to be the final step in the Hornets' search process. That round of interviews could begin as early as this week after Jordan returns from an out of market vacation.

When league personnel descended upon Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine, word seemed to indicate that Atkinson was gaining some momentum in the Hornets' search. He phoned several current Hornets staffers and league personnel familiar with the Charlotte organization, sources said, and projected great confidence that the job would ultimately be his. Atkinson has been described as a particularly thorough person, and several figures close to the coach indicated his research calls were simply a trademark of his personality and approach.

D'Antoni has long been categorized as the true front-runner for the position. Known for his dynamic offensive principles, and his previous success unlocking Steve Nash in Phoenix and then James Harden with the Rockets, D'Antoni is seen by some as the ideal coach to oversee the next step of LaMelo Ball's progression as an elite point guard. One source with knowledge of the franchise told B/R that D'Antoni's profile appears to be more of the preference of Charlotte's Jordan-led group.

Atkinson's noted background in player development, highlighted by his success as the head coach in Brooklyn, would seem to align more with a young team hoping to rise out of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament and into the postseason.

However, various league figures have suggested the similarities between Atkinson and Borrego may ultimately work against Atkinson, and help lead to D'Antoni's hire. The Hornets had no specific profile for their next head coach when they dismissed Borrego, sources said, but Charlotte brass clearly sought a different voice and direction than Borrego's.

Jake Fischer covers the NBA for Bleacher Report and is the author of Built to Lose: How the NBA's Tanking Era Changed the League Forever.