The Cleveland Cavaliers are wasting no time in their search for a new head coach after firing J.B. Bickerstaff last week. The team has received permission to interview Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson and New Orleans assistant James Borrego for the vacant position, according to a source familiar with the process.
Atkinson and Borrego are the first candidates to be contacted by the Cavs as they embark on an extensive search to find Bickerstaff’s replacement. Both coaches have also been linked to other coaching vacancies, with Borrego reportedly meeting with officials from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cleveland’s president of basketball operations, Koby Altman, emphasized that there is no rush to make a decision on the new coach, stating, “It’s when we come up with the right decision for who’s the right match for this group and if it has to drag on a little longer, it does.”
The Cavaliers’ head coaching job is seen as an attractive opportunity, given the team’s success in the regular season and playoffs despite facing numerous injuries. The team won 48 games, advanced to the second round of the playoffs, and put up a strong fight against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Atkinson, a former head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, has been an assistant with the Golden State Warriors since 2021. Borrego, who previously coached the Charlotte Hornets, spent last season as an associate head coach with the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Cavs are looking to make a strategic decision in their coaching search to continue their success on the court.