Cleveland Cavaliers to hire Kenny Atkinson for upcoming NBA season: Reports

According to reports, the Cleveland Cavaliers are set to hire Kenny Atkinson for the upcoming NBA season 2024/25. On May 23 J.B. Bickerstaff was fired after five seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and now Kenny Atkinson is going to replace him for the next season. 

 This is the second time that Kenny Atkinson will be coaching in the NBA earlier he was coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 until 2020. Earlier, Kenny Atkison served as assistant coach for the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks from 2008-16.

In March 2020 when Kenny Atkison stepped down as head coach of Brooklyn Nets, he joined Golden State Warriors in August 2021 as assistant coach and was till then until 2023/24 season. Meanwhile, in June 2022 he was set to join the head coach of Charlotte Hornets but later he opted and chose to stay with the Golden State Warriors.

Atkinson will have some familiarity with Cleveland. Cavaliers centre Jarrett Allen and guard Caris LeVert both played for him in Brooklyn and lauded him when questioned by their teammates. After replacing John Beilein in 2020, J.B. Bickerstaff went 170-159 with Cleveland and, after a four-year postseason drought, guided the team to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made it to playoffs after a long time

Cleveland Cavaliers won their first playoff series since making it to the 2018 NBA Finals in early May, defeating the Orlando Magic in seven games. It was also Cleveland's first appearance in the Eastern Conference semifinals since 1992–93 when LeBron James was not a member of the team.

The general manager of the Cavaliers Koby Altman can now concentrate on attempting to ensure Donovan Mitchell's future in Cleveland, as the coaching problem has been resolved. When he becomes a free agent following the 2024–25 season, the five-time All-Star guard will be able to negotiate a contract worth a maximum of $269.9 million for five years.