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Rose’s first big move was one of the organization’s great triumphs. Tom Thibodeau, a no-frills head coach, was hired after a search that included Jason Kidd and Kenny Atkinson, among others. There was some haggling over who Thibodeau had to accept on his staff — and the deal nearly fell apart at the last minute — but ultimately they agreed on a five-year contract.
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson addressed the future of Virtus Bologna young forward Saliou Niang during his visit to Italy following the end of Cleveland's NBA season. Atkinson said he believes Niang, who was selected by the Cavaliers in last year's NBA Draft, can become part of the franchise's future. He also praised the forward's development over the past season. "A strong, determined young man who works with great energy and is constantly growing, including in terms of leadership on the court. We selected him in last year's draft, and I believe he will be part of our franchise's future," Atkinson said via Tuttosport.
Iacopo De Santis: 🇮🇹👀 Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was in Italy for Saliou Niang, who was selected with the #58 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Niang recorded 11 points, 7 rebounds (3 offensive rebounds), 3 assists in 24 minutes.
There were rumbles during the regular season that Cleveland would have interest in pursuing Quin Snyder — Donovan Mitchell's former coach in Utah — in the event of a coaching change there, but sources with knowledge of the Cavaliers' thinking have pushed back on such suggestions, insisting that Kenny Atkinson was always destined to retain his job for a third season.
Michael Scotto: Kenny Atkinson will return as Cleveland Cavaliers head coach. Donovan Mitchell strongly endorsed Atkinson when asked about him. “I love Kenny. We love Kenny. We ride with Kenny. Ultimately, that’s all that matters. I know for a fact he’s from Long Island. He don’t give a damn.”
Kenny Atkinson will return as Cleveland Cavaliers head coach. Donovan Mitchell strongly endorsed Atkinson when asked about him. “I love Kenny. We love Kenny. We ride with Kenny. Ultimately, that’s all that matters. I know for a fact he’s from Long Island. He don’t give a damn.” pic.twitter.com/6pddaO4cgr
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) May 26, 2026
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The Cavaliers plan to retain coach Kenny Atkinson even after the team was swept Monday night by the New York Knicks, two league sources told The Athletic. Atkinson guided the franchise to its first appearance in the conference finals since 2018 and first without LeBron James on the roster since 1992, but there was some question coming out of the series about potential changes Cleveland might make. Instead, no major changes to the front office or coaching staffs are now expected, per those sources.
Atkinson took the 2025 playoff failure hard and rewatched every possession from the series against Indiana, looking for what went wrong. He was hard on his staff, numerous league sources said, in part because he felt he couldn’t be overly hard on the players. But at the same time, with Darius Garland and Max Strus out to start the regular season, Atkinson tried to lean on Evan Mobley to be more of an offensive threat. Both he and the team struggled with that priority.
Louis Williams criticizes Kenny Atkinson's analytics-heavy championship messaging: "And I've said it publicly, man, I love Kenny Atkinson to death. This is one of my favorite people that I've ever worked with in the business. He's responsible for getting me back on my feet in my career after I tore my ACL. We worked side by side every day of the week. But this messaging is just bad, man. I got to call a spade a spade. The messaging was bad. So, you allow a lot of analytical guys into the game and think that's the way to win a championship, then this proved that it's not. It's a great asset to have to combine it with the things that you need to do physically on the floor to win a basketball game, but it shouldn't be your end all be all. I didn't love this message."
NBA head coaches, at times, receive the brunt of the blame regardless of the context that led them there. "I know for a fact he's from Long Island, he don't give a damn [about the outside criticism]," Mitchell said, as he and Atkinson have New York ties. "But it's just the world we live in. We could have made it to the Finals and got swept, somebody was going to say something. I told you out there, even if we won, there's going to be something. 'Can we do it?' It's always going to be something for people to say, but ultimately, we're in the thick of it, we're in it together and that's my biggest thing."
Mitchell certainly endorsed Atkinson after the Game 4 loss. Harden, too, echoed that sentiment, and put the conference finals loss more on the Cavs' shooting woes than anything else. "Ultimate players coach. Like, he gets it," Harden said. "He understands the team. And, yeah, of course, somebody's gonna have to take the criticism, whether it's myself or Kenny, the entire team, whoever. They're gonna put it on somebody. But I think for Kenny, he did an unbelievable job of getting me acclimated as fast as possible to understanding what I was supposed to be doing out there. And it's just an unfortunate situation. "Any team coming off of the tough two series against two defensive monsters, it would have been challenging. … Other than [the third quarter of Game 1], I don't necessarily remember a quarter where we actually made shots, like as a group, which is like, you're not gonna win against any team."
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Michael Scotto: Kenny Atkinson on the Cavs: “We took a step. This is kind of how this works. You have to keep climbing. We are going, obviously, in a positive direction. Fell short. There’s no bigger motivator to get to the next level.”
Danny Cunningham: Kenny Atkinson on potential changes: "I have confidence in myself, confidence in the group, the roster talk, that's for down the line. Our front office has done a phenomenal job...obviously there will be decisions to be made, like every summer."