Tag: hiring

NBA: Cavs hiring Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as next coach

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FILE – Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson watches during the first half of the team’s NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Feb. 1, 2020, in Washington. The Cleveland Cavaliers are hiring Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson as their new coach, a person familiar with decision told the Associated Press on Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

CLEVELAND — Just days ahead of the NBA draft, the Cavaliers picked their coach.

Kenny Atkinson, an assistant with Golden State who helped Brooklyn rebuild before a puzzling departure, will be Cleveland’s new coach, a person familiar with decision told The Associated Press on Monday.

The Cavs have been looking for a new leader for their young team since firing J.B. Bickerstaff last month despite two straight playoff appearances and continued progress.

The sides have agreed on a deal and are working through details of Atkinson’s contract, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team is not discussing its search publicly.

ESPN.com was first to report Atkinson is heading to Cleveland.

READ: NBA: Bucks receive permission to interview Kenny Atkinson

It’s possible there could be a minor delay in the Cavs officially announcing Atkinson’s hire. He joined the French national team’s staff as an assistant to coach Vincent Collet late last year and is currently in Paris preparing for the Olympics.

Atkinson spent the past three seasons as Steven Kerr’s top assistant with the Warriors. In 2022, Atkinson accepted Charlotte’s coaching job but backed out a week after agreeing to a four-year contract.

Atkinson’s hiring ends an expansive search by the Cavs’ front office. Atkinson was one of at least six known candidates to interview with the team since Bickerstaff’s firing on May 23 — a week after Cleveland was eliminated from the playoffs in five games by the eventual champion Boston Celtics.

The 57-year-old Atkinson checked all the boxes in what the Cavs were looking for: head coaching experience, offensive-minded and a strong reputation for player development.

He emerged as the choice by Cleveland vice president of basketball operations Koby Altman and general manager Mike Gansey last week. Atkinson then met with team chairman Dan Gilbert, who signed off on the Cavs’ first coaching hire in five years.

READ: NBA: Kenny Atkinson spurs Hornets to stay with Warriors

Atkinson went 118-190 in his three-plus seasons with the Nets, overseeing their rise from the lower tier of the Eastern Conference to a playoff berth in 2019. It appeared he might be with Brooklyn for an extended period following the additions of superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but had a surprising split from the franchise in 2020.

Atkinson’s parting was a major surprise given the team’s growth under his guidance. After leaving, he spent one season on the Los Angeles Clippers’ staff before going to Golden State.

With the Warriors, Atkinson got to see one of the league’s best offensive players in Stephen Curry and immersed himself in a dynamic offense system he’s certain to borrow from with Cleveland.

One of the knocks on Bickerstaff was his inability to improve Cleveland’s offense. Still, he went 170-159 in the regular season while guiding the Cavs back to relevance through a rebuild that began in 2018 when LeBron James left as a free agent.

Bickerstaff, who replaced John Beilein midway through the 2019-20 season, kept Cleveland among the top teams in the East this season despite a slew of injuries and Cleveland advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs without James on its roster for the first time since 1994.

Atkinson, who got his NBA coaching start as an assistant on Mike D’Antoni’s staff with the New York Knicks in 2008, has some connections on the Cavs after working with center Jarrett Allen and forward Caris LeVert while in Brooklyn.

Hiring a new coach was the first priority in a pivotal summer for the Cavs. Next is getting All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell to accept a long-term contract extension, this week’s draft (Cleveland has the No. 20 overall pick) and perhaps retooling the roster with trades and in free agency.

After the Cavs were knocked out of the playoffs, Altman said the team needed a coach who could bring new ideas and a fresh approach to get the most from the team’s core of players — Mitchell, Allen, guard Darius Garland and forward Evan Mobley.



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Atkinson will get the next shot.

Lakers hiring JJ Redick as their new head coach

On: By: admin


Former NBA player JJ Redick is reported to be the next head coach for Los Angeles Lakers. Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images/AFP 

LOS ANGELES — JJ Redick is being hired as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, a person with knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the Lakers hadn’t yet publicly announced the decision to hire the former guard for his first coaching job.

The 39-year-old Redick is an extraordinary choice by the Lakers, who hired a 15-year veteran with absolutely no coaching experience to lead a franchise with 17 NBA titles, one of the biggest brand names in world sports — and LeBron James, the top scorer in league history.

READ: NBA: Lakers with public coaching search in hopes of pleasing LeBron

Redick was a proficient outside shooter for six teams before his retirement in September 2021, when he moved into a career in broadcasting and podcasting. He joined ESPN’s lead commentary team earlier this year.

ESPN first reported the decision.

Before Redick finished broadcasting the NBA Finals, he met with the Lakers last weekend and apparently did well enough to end the franchise’s lengthy coaching search. Less than two weeks after UConn coach Danny Hurley turned down the Lakers’ ardent advances, Redick has accepted the job in a remarkable three-year journey from the court to the broadcast booth to the Lakers’ bench.

Redick replaces Darvin Ham, who was fired May 3 despite leading the Lakers to two playoff berths and a Western Conference finals appearance in 2023.

Redick began recording a regular podcast with James two months ago, and their “Mind the Game” collaboration is already wildly popular, with listeners often emerging impressed by the duo’s basketball acumen and high-level discussion of tactics and motivation.

READ: JJ Redick installed as favorite to become 76ers next coach

Now these two minds will be working together for the Lakers, with Redick leading a roster headlined by LeBron, who is six months younger than Redick.

Everything is contingent on James deciding to return to play with Anthony Davis and the Lakers, of course. James, who will enter his 22nd NBA season this fall, could decline his $51.4 million contract option this month to become a free agent.

But hiring Redick seems to be another calculated move by the Lakers to maximize their chances of keeping the 20-time All-Star and the driving force behind their 2020 championship team.

Redick’s coaching experience is limited to his children’s youth teams, but he has been around the game his entire life. He is the leading scorer in the history of Duke, where he played four seasons under Mike Krzyzewski.

And though Redick is an unorthodox choice, his unlikely ascent is not without some precedent in Lakers lore and recent NBA history.

Pat Riley was a broadcaster for the Lakers in November 1979 when Paul Westhead took over as their head coach after Jack McKinney nearly died in a bicycle accident. Westhead hired Riley as an assistant without coaching experience, and Riley became the Lakers’ head coach in late 1981 after Westhead clashed with Magic Johnson.

Riley promptly led the Lakers to four championships in the 1980s to begin his incredible career as a coach and executive.

And then there’s Steve Kerr, the former shooting guard and Phoenix Suns executive who had never coached before he took over at Golden State in 2014. Kerr has led Stephen Curry’s Warriors to four championships and six NBA Finals appearances in the past decade.

Redick’s arrival ends another unusual offseason coaching search for owner Jeanie Buss, general manager Rob Pelinka and the Lakers, who are hiring their eighth head coach since Phil Jackson’s final departure in 2011, and their fourth since James arrived as a free agent in 2018.

Los Angeles needed six weeks to settle on Ham in the summer of 2022, but the longtime assistant coach was dismissed after the Lakers lost to defending champion Denver in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Ham led the Lakers to two winning seasons and a victory in the inaugural In-Season Tournament last year, but many fans and observers — and, clearly, the Lakers’ front office — were not impressed by his leadership or preparation.

Davis memorably said during the playoffs that the Lakers “have stretches where we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor.”



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The Lakers hired Ham after firing Frank Vogel, who had been fired exactly 18 months after he won a title in the Florida bubble. Vogel replaced Luke Walton after another long coaching search in which the Lakers were widely reported to have wanted Tyronn Lue, only for a deal to fall apart over issues with money and control.