By Shams Charania, Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers are working to safe their future on two necessary fronts.
The franchise is assured about reaching a contract extension quickly with All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell and can be within the remaining phases of deciding between Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and New Orleans Pelicans affiliate head coach James Borrego for the group’s head teaching job, sources briefed on the issues inform The Athletic.
Whereas the Cavs’ teaching search nears a doable conclusion, the group’s executives are set to current a four-year, $209 million most contract to Mitchell, group and league sources stated. As for the teaching search, each Borrego and Atkinson are offensive-minded coaches who worth ball motion and variety of their assaults — issues Mitchell craves.
A number of sources briefed on the looming resolution to switch J.B. Bickerstaff, who was fired final month, stated each Borrego and Atkinson have help among the many group’s prime executives, and the group is hoping to have its selection by the NBA Draft, which begins Wednesday.
Borrego, sources stated, was the entrance runner as of final week, till Cleveland’s entrance workplace met with Cavs majority proprietor Dan Gilbert on Wednesday. Atkinson’s candidacy gained appreciable momentum after the assembly between Gilbert and group executives. Gilbert has prior to now intervened in teaching searches, driving initiatives to rent David Blatt in 2014 and John Beilein in 2019, in addition to an unsuccessful try to lure Tom Izzo away from Michigan State in 2010.
Whomever Cleveland hires will probably be its fifth coach since profitable the title in 2016, following Tyronn Lue, Larry Drew, Beilein and Bickerstaff since that momentous night for the franchise in Oakland, Calif., practically a decade in the past. Bickerstaff was dismissed after guiding the Cavs to the second spherical this season and three consecutive postseason appearances. There was sufficient dysfunction between the coach and gamers that the entrance workplace felt a change was wanted.
Cleveland took important steps ahead below Bickerstaff over the previous few years, enhancing from back-to-back 19-win seasons earlier than Bickerstaff took over full time to 98 mixed wins the previous two seasons. Their playoff collection victory over the Orlando Magic this 12 months was the Cavs’ first since LeBron James left for Los Angeles in 2018.
Borrego, 46, coached the Charlotte Hornets from 2018 to 2022, amassing a 138-163 report throughout these 4 seasons with two Play-In Match appearances. Borrego’s tenure there will get a big asterisk, as LaMelo Ball missed 30 video games in 2020-21 and Gordon Hayward barely performed half of Charlotte’s video games over Borrego’s remaining two seasons as a consequence of accidents.
Borrego spent this previous season as an assistant below Willie Inexperienced in New Orleans and was additionally the interim head coach for the Orlando Magic on the finish of the 2014-15 season. Borrego is called a artistic tactician and was a finalist for the Lakers’ head teaching job this summer time, which went to JJ Redick.
Atkinson, 57, coached the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020, tallying a 118-190 report throughout these 4 seasons with one playoff look. He’s extremely revered as a growth coach with creativity on each ends of the ground. Atkinson and the Nets mutually parted methods simply earlier than the NBA season quickly shut down in 2020 as a consequence of COVID-19, when it turned clear that Atkinson, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant (who was injured on the time) could be extra snug with a change.
Atkinson has spent the final three seasons finding out the intricacies of the Warriors offense below Steve Kerr. Two Cavs presently below contract – Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen – performed for Atkinson in Brooklyn. Each gamers had optimistic experiences and, in essence, began down their paths to NBA success below Atkinson.
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(Picture: Maddie Meyer / Getty Photos)