Cavs Hire the Guy They Wanted… Meet Kenny Atkinson

Cleveland Oh. – The Cavs have hired Kenny Atkinson as the franchise’s next head coach. Atkinson has spent the last three seasons with the Golden State Warriors as the lead assistant after one year with the LA Clipper as an assistant. Atkinson was the head coach for the Brooklyn Nets where he went 118-190 helping the Nets to rebuild.

Atkinson comes to Cleveland with a strong reputation as a coach with great player development ties. His work guiding the Nets from their rebuild with limited draft capital and resources has earned him a reputation for being a good coach leading young teams. The Cavs have two players very familiar with Atkinson in Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen. Both players played in Brooklyn with Atkinson and that may have played a role in why he is brought to Cleveland.

Atkinson will look to improve the Cavs offense. If Koby Altman is serious about not trading any of the “core four” the challenge Atkinson will face will be maximizing the Cavs young stars in Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Darius Garland. Finding a way to make that foursome work will be key to the success of the Cavs going forward. This is all assuming Mitchell resigns, and Garland does not get traded.

The Cavs now turn their attention to the resigning of Mitchell. With a coach in place, Mitchell now becomes priority number one for the Cavs front office. Mitchell can sign a four year, $208M extension and all signs are pointing toward him doing so. Or at least signing an extension. But for now, the Cavs get their guy.

Atkinson spent nine seasons as an assistant coach with the Knicks, Hawks, Clippers, and Warriors. He briefly accepted the Charlotte Hornets job before changing his mind and remaining an assistant with the Warriors.