Report: Cavs may interview Warriors’ Atkinson for head coaching vacancy originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Cleveland Cavaliers appear very interested in Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson for their head coaching job.
The Cavaliers received permission from the Warriors to interview Atkinson for the position, along with New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday, citing sources.
Sources ESPN: Cleveland received permission to interview Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson and New Orleans assistant James Borrego for head coaching position. The Cavs are beginning a broad interview process that will include several other candidates.
-Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 30, 2024
While Atkinson and Borrego are “two leading candidates” in Cleveland’s coaching search, according to Wojnarowski, The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd reported Sunday that the Warriors’ top assistant is the “leader” for the job.
Meanwhile, Borrego is a serious candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers job and participated in a second interview with the team on Wednesday, Wojnarowski reported, citing sources.
There are rumors that the Lakers will also have Atkinson among your pool of candidates. Atkinson has spent the past three seasons on Golden State’s staff, serving as a key figure during the Warriors’ 2022 NBA Finals run. The 56-year-old previously served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020, overseeing a strong turnaround during his time with the team.
But Atkinson also has ties to the Cavaliers thanks to his years in Brooklyn, where he coached Cleveland players Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert.
Just because Atkinson is a top candidate and reportedly will be interviewed doesn’t necessarily mean he’s leaving Golden State. As the Warriors battled the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Finals, Atkinson agreed to become the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets before ultimately deciding it was better to stay with the Warriors.
Atkinson too was supposedly a candidate for the Milwaukee Bucks head coaching job after the team fired Adrian Griffin at the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, before ultimately hiring Doc Rivers as his replacement.
As coach Steve Kerr’s right-hand man and NBA champion, it’s no wonder there’s so much interest in Atkinson.
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