Rumors

Chris Fedor: Kenny Atkinson was with the team in Las Vegas. He spent some time with Evan Mobley and DeAndre Hunter out in Los Angeles. He spent some time with Darius Garland going through the whole um recovery plan with the doctors and stuff like that. Um he went out to see Sam Merrill. He went out to see Donovan Mitchell. He has more freedom to do and he has more of an opportunity to do just based on the the other stuff that that's part of his schedule. He even told me he has watched the rewatched the Indiana series so many different times trying to study that and learn from that.

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Chris Fedor: I also talked to Kenny Atkinson. That story is going to come out on Cleveland.com this week. And I asked him, I said, "You know, as a coach, you lost Ty Jerome and Darius Garland is obviously recovering from toe surgery. Are you anticipating Darius being ready for training?" And he said, "No, I don't decide these things. It's going to be up to Darius and the training staff led by Steve Spiro." But he said, "I don't expect him to, and I want him to take his time with this, and we're not going to push it. We're not going to rush it."

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Erik Slater: Kyrie Irving speaks about his relationship with the Nets: "I wish that we got a chance to get to know them beforehand because they wasn't f***ing with me like that... Kenny Atkinson wasn't f***ing with me like that. The Nets didn't want me like that. They wanted KD."

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Dustin Dopirak: Kenny Atkinson being interviewed on the broadcast. Asked what's next for Evan Mobley: "I don't want to put pressure on him, but in the next 2-3 years he should be in the MVP conversation."

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Ethan Sands: Kenny Atkinson said on the broadcast at Summer League that Jaylon Tyson is playing like he’s desperate for rotation minutes. With Isaac Okoro gone, the reigning Coach of the Year added that the #Cavs will need guys like Tyson — and they’ve loved his improved physicality and development this summer.

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As cleveland.com Cavs beat reporter, Chris Fedor detailed on the podcast, this wasn’t simply a resume-based hire but one rooted in trusted relationships. “Mike Brown, I’m told, gave the highest glowing recommendation of Jawad Williams,” Fedor revealed. “When Mike Brown is going to go to bat for a guy like Jawad, Kenny’s going to listen.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Danny Cunningham: The #Cavs have hired Jawad Williams as an assistant coach on Kenny Atkinson’s staff. Williams attended St. Edward’s high school and played for the Cavs from 2008-2011.

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“I would prefer us wearing suits,” Atkinson said in October. “I think I’m in the minority. I just love (wearing suits). We’re a profession. I think it looks great. I think it looks great on TV. My daughter keeps saying, she says it at least once a week. She’s 14 years old and she says, ‘Dad, I miss the suits.’ I just think it gives a certain aesthetic. I enjoyed seeing what the other coaches wore. I don’t know if that’s old school. I don’t know, but I miss that. I wish we’d bring it back.”

New York Times

Shams Charania: After a comprehensive, four-round search that included over 15 candidates, the Suns' ownership and front office aligned on Ott, who joined Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson's staff last summer and played a key coaching role on the East-best 64-win Cavaliers this season.

x.com

Sources tell cleveland.com that Atkinson has made the film room his second home in the aftermath of Cleveland’s latest postseason flameout. He has rewatched the series numerous times, trying to figure out what went wrong and coming up with internal solutions.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Michael Scotto: Cleveland Cavaliers President Koby Altman on free agent guard Ty Jerome: “Love to keep him. We’re hopeful.” “When guys find that confidence in (Kenny Atkinson’s) system, their value gets driven up. Same thing with Sam Merrill. You want to call these guys end of bench players before that became real rotational players and valuable within the ecosystem, not just us. The good news is those guys are going to do really well for themselves.”

x.com

With Darius Garland injured, Jerome scored 21 points on 20 shots in Game 1, then went 1-for-14 in Game 2 and was the defender who lost track of Tyrese Haliburton on the Pacers' game winner. Jerome got off to another slow start in Game 3, shooting 1-for-8, and at that point coach Kenny Atkinson had seen enough. Jerome played just 13 minutes, by far his lowest total of the postseason, as Sam Merrill passed him on the depth chart. By Game 5, Jerome couldn't get off the bench until the second half. Already facing financial pressures as a projected second apron team next season, the Cavaliers might now conclude that Jerome isn't worth retaining if he can't even stay on the floor in their most important games. And Jerome's struggles in the playoff pressure cooker might also scare off potential suitors who would otherwise be interested in seeing what he could do with more touches.

ESPN

Atkinson acknowledged some positive strides from the team this season, but he still noted how the Cavs struggled to match the Pacers' physicality and intensity throughout the series. "I do feel like we got better," Atkinson said. "From the team aspect and then we had a lot of individuals make a step, so I just want to make that clear. But the truth of the matter is we didn't get to the level we wanted to get to. So, I'm not pleased with that. And we're not celebrating the season, if that all makes sense. But I do think we made strides. I think we took a jump. "Now we got to figure out this last piece, how to get over this hump. And I was quite honestly expecting more, especially coming off the [first-round] Miami series."

ESPN

Chris Fedor: #Cavs Kenny Atkinson: "We've got a lot of work to do"

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