Key notes: Mitchell, Atkinson, Pacers, Connaughton

In an interesting story for The Athletic, Sam Amick describes the meeting between the two in late June Donovan Mitchell and new head coach Kenny Atkinson That helped convince the star guard to sign a three-year, maximum-salary extension Cavaliers over the summer.

Instead of using technology to make his point over lunch, Atkinson opted for the opposite approach.

“We went through (Atkinson’s vision) and sprinkled salt and pepper on the little placemat” Mitchell recently told The Athletic. “This guy could be here and put that there. What fascinated me, of course, was the fact that we were having this kind of discussion over a normal lunch. We’re legitimately trying to figure everything out and saying, “Okay, we can put this person here and where do we put this guy?” Evan (Mobley) goes here, with the gun action. He prepares this (action) and you can slip. We just go through everything.”

As Amick writes, Atkinson didn’t know Mitchell well before the encounter, but was quickly impressed by the 28-year-old’s basketball talent.

“I wanted it to be more casual than a board sessionAtkinson told The Athletic. “I wanted his thoughts on how we would play, thoughts on the team. I said, “Let’s go down the list and tell me about each guy.” And it was incredible. It was like talking to a coach. He had such deep knowledge.

“He told me everything about each guy, that was the spark for me. Man, I have the plan here and then strategically talk to him about what we wanted to do. His IQ is extraordinary – truly extraordinary. It just clicked, you know? Strategically. And that is important. You could meet and not click. He bought in immediately.”

Here’s more from the headquarters:

• Guard Quenton Jacksonwho has a two-way contract with the Pacemakerhas started the last five games due to injuries to his teammates, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “He’s a fierce defender, he’s a rim attacker“, head coach Rick Carlisle said of Jackson. “He will bring intensity and competitiveness to the game. … He gets a really tough matchup every night, and that’s something he really craves.” For his part, the former undrafted free agent said he was grateful for the first extended playing time of his career. “It’s something you dream aboutsaid Jackson. “The fact that it is here is nothing short of a blessing. At the same time, you have to focus on the essentials and running the business, and that’s exactly what I’m doing right now.”
• Pacemaker guard Tyrese Haliburton briefly wore a protective mask against Portland on Wednesday after suffering a blow to the nose in Monday’s win. He told reporters, including Dopirak, that wearing the mask was an optional decision, but he took it off in the second quarter and played better without it. “It’s not coming backsaid Haliburton. “Hopefully it will stop hurting so much in a few days. I hope I never see that again.”
• Forward Pat Connaughton was from the dollar‘ rotation for four games before giving the team a boost in Tuesday’s win at Miami, contributing 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes. Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscriber link) tells the story of how the veteran wing stayed ready despite being unsure when his next opportunity would arise.