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The NBA G League is welcoming in a new team next season. The “Select Team” will feature some of the top high school prep stars and best basketball prospects in the nation. The team already has two stud prospects in Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd. Now, the team is looking for an arena and a coach.
The coaching list so far has three names on it: David Fizdale, Sam Mitchell and Brian Shaw, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported Monday. Fizdale you all know for his stint with the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies. Fiz is close with some of the top stars in the NBA, including LeBron James.
Mitchell was the head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2004-09, which was his longest stint as a head coach. Other than that, Mitchell has been an assistant at a few stops, most recently in Memphis. Haynes says Mitchell has the inside track since he coached Green in AAU ball.
Shaw is best known for being on the Los Angeles Lakers during the post-Shaq Kobe days. Shaw wont two titles in 2009 and 2010 with the Lakers before becoming an assistant coach with the team. He parlayed that job into a job with the Pacers before becoming head coach of the Nuggets from 2013-15. That didn’t end well, so Shaw went back to L.A. with Luke Walton before that project fell apart.
The G League is also looking for an arena and Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Academy has been looked into, per Haynes. The Mamba Academy is a 100,000 square foot facility with five courts and a multi-sports training center. It seems like a great place for young athletes to go and develop their talents before becoming stars in the NBA. Like Kobe.