FILE -.The Cleveland Cavaliers are hiring former Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson as their new coach. (AP Photograph/Rick Bowmer, File)
CLEVELAND— Kenny Atkinson’s first stint as an NBA head coach ended with a sudden, unusual separation in Brooklyn.
He’s hoping for a longer-lasting relationship in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers finalized a five-year contract on Friday with Atkinson, who spent the previous three seasons as an assistant with Golden State and now takes over a Cleveland group coming off its second straight playoff look.
In selecting the revered Atkinson, the Cavs ended a monthlong search that started after the firing of J.B. Bickerstaff, who led the group to 99 wins the previous two seasons. Bickerstaff was let go after Cleveland misplaced in 5 video games to Boston within the Japanese Convention semifinals.
READ: NBA: Cavaliers hiring Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as subsequent coach
“Kenny brings a wealth of expertise, a confirmed observe file of participant improvement, and a relentless work ethic that aligns with the imaginative and prescient now we have for this franchise,” mentioned Koby Altman, the group’s president of basketball operations.
“His familiarity teaching alongside among the NBA’s greatest elevates this partnership and we’re excited that Kenny will information our group and assist us obtain our targets each on and off the courtroom,” Altman added
The Cavs plan to introduce Atkinson — the franchise’s twenty fourth coach — at a information convention on Monday.
“That is an unbelievable alternative to guide an already proficient younger roster with an equally brilliant future,” Atkinson mentioned in a press release. “I’ve seen firsthand and needed to put together for this group as an opposing coach, and the duty was not straightforward. I’m so excited to now be on this facet of the ledger to assist proceed transferring this group ahead.”
READ: NBA: Cavaliers to interview assistants Johnnie Bryant, Quinn
There was a delay in Atkinson signing his contract as a result of he was in France serving to its nationwide group put together for the upcoming Paris Olympics. He’ll be again in Europe subsequent week for exhibition video games with the French group.
Atkinson arrived in Cleveland on Wednesday and was within the group’s draft room when the Cavs chosen Cal ahead Jaylon Tyson with the No. 20 general decide.
Atkinson’s hiring is one other vital transfer in a pivotal summer season for a Cleveland group that believes it has the required roster to compete for a championship. The following step — and maybe crucial — is getting All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to signal a long-term contract, which he’s anticipated to do.
The 57-year-old Atkinson is a protected, sound decide by the group’s entrance workplace and chairman Dan Gilbert, who hasn’t at all times dealt with teaching searches with aplomb. Gilbert’s outside-the-box hires of first-time NBA coaches David Blatt and John Beilein backfired badly.
Atkinson is much much less dangerous.
He has the resume, highlighted by offensive success and a repute for growing gamers. Atkinson started as an assistant beneath Mike D’Antoni in New York and has additionally been on staffs with Tyronn Lue and most just lately Steve Kerr.
Atkinson gained a title with the Warriors in 2022.
“Kenny is a superb good friend,” mentioned Kerr, additionally the U.S. group’s coach who inspired Atkinson to affix the French employees. “He’s a terrific coach. That’s the explanation Cleveland simply employed him. And I used to be very fortunate to have him the previous few years.”
The Cavs are relying on Atkinson to deliver out the very best of their younger gamers, significantly 23-year-old ahead Evan Mobley, and take the group additional than Bickerstaff may.
His expertise with the Nets undoubtedly formed Atkinson. Though his file wasn’t glowing (118-190), he obtained Brooklyn’s gamers to purchase in and the group made incremental enhancements in every of his 4 seasons, making the playoffs in Yr 3.
Nevertheless, 62 video games into the 2020 season, Atkinson was pushed out amid an possession change and the ballyhooed arrivals of stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. His dismissal stays considerably mysterious, a kind of behind-the-scenes energy struggles that percolate all through the league.
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The Cavs had been additionally drawn to Atkinson’s offensive ingenuity. Beneath him, the Nets had been on the forefront of enjoying quicker and taking pictures extra 3-pointers, a pattern that took off and was embraced by the champion Celtics this season.
