ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith shared his thoughts on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ decision to hire Kenny Atkinson, pointing out that longtime assistant coach Sam Cassell should receive a chance to become a head coach soon.
“Two forms of theory here,” Smith said. “No. 1, first of all, I’m happy for him. He deserves this opportunity. He’s an outstanding basketball mind. For anybody that covers the NBA, they will tell you that’s what they hear about him religiously.
“Obviously, the last three years he’s been in Golden State, helped to deliver a title a couple of years back.”
Smith also mentioned how Atkinson was “pushed” out of Brooklyn because Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant didn’t go to bat for him at the time. Durant was injured and didn’t play in his lone season while Atkinson was still the Brooklyn Nets head coach.
The Nets then decided to hire former NBA MVP Steve Nash, but things didn’t work out with him at the helm and he was also eventually let go by the franchise.
“So, for him getting another opportunity, Shannon [Sharpe], I’m totally good with it,” Smith said of Atkinson. “All I’m saying is this: For everybody out there that says, it’s a great, great thing for him to get this bite at the apple, I will remind everybody that there’s a guy by the name of Sam Cassell, who is a champion as a player and has been an assistant coach for 15 years. And I don’t hear anybody screaming that he deserves a chance. Let’s be fair here. Kenny Atkinson, I’m happy for him. He deserves the opportunity. I wish him nothing but the best.
“But let’s also make sure that we point out guys like Sam Cassell, who have been wanting the opportunity for many, many years and have yet to get one.”
Smith’s comments were met with some backlash in the comments on YouTube.
While there’s no doubt that Cassell has an impressive resume to potentially land a head-coaching gig in the future, it doesn’t seem like he was in the running for the job by the end of the hiring cycle for Cleveland.
It was reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd that Atkinson and James Borrego were the finalists for the job.
“Both Atkinson and Borrego had support among the Cavs’ executives to replace J.B. Bickerstaff,” Charania, Vardon and Lloyd wrote.
“Borrego, sources said, was the front-runner as of last week, until Cleveland’s front office met with Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert on Wednesday. Atkinson’s candidacy gained considerable momentum after the meeting between Gilbert and team executives.”
It’s possible that Boston’s long playoff run – eventually winning the NBA Finals – could have played a role in Cleveland not considering Cassell for the position.
Donovan Mitchell’s status with Cleveland for the long haul is still up in the air. Mitchell can sign an extension with the franchise this offseason, but if he does not, the Cavs may look to trade him since he is only under contract through the 2024-25 season.
Mitchell has a player option for the 2025-26 season that he could opt out of to become an unrestricted free agent. So, it’s possible the Cavs wanted to have a head coach in place as soon as possible after the Finals to give Mitchell more clarity about the direction of the franchise.
Hopefully for the Cavs, Atkinson will end up being the right hire to take the team to new heights after it flamed out in the first round of the playoffs in the 2022-23 season and the second round in the 2023-24 season.
