EXCLUSIVE interview w/ new Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson

EXCLUSIVE interview w/ new Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson

thr to be joined now by the Cavs new head coach Kenny ainson Kenny thank you for taking some time to join the ultimate Cleveland sports show you mentioned earlier during your intro press conference the different ways you hope to utilize Evan moley and his development as an offensive player and I couldn’t help put two and two together listening to you that you maybe wanted utilizing him like the Warriors utiliz Draymond Green am I looking too much into that how you want to use him offensively you’re not too far off okay I I think that’s very fair I think you make that comparison you’re never gonna it’s not gonna be one for one We’re Not Gonna copy you know kind of kind of what Dr draymond’s his own unique but I actually talked to Draymond after I got the job and the first thing he talked about was Evan and how much he liked him and thought he could be really when Draymond talks you listen you know as a coach and and uh that guy’s got the best IQ I’ve ever seen so yeah I definitely definitely want to incorporate um some of the Draymond stuff with Evan but you know that that also goes with ja too right because we I do have experience you know with with Steve and and the Warriors we’re playing two bigs together so uh that was definitely part of my Spiel right like when when when I came for the job I I feel I feel comfortable in that environment I didn’t used to be that way Brookland it was Mike dant spread pick and roll ja rolling d’angel handling Caris handling and you know just complete spread out you know shoot a ton of three this this is different and so I don’t think if I had that um if I didn’t have that war experience I’m not sure I’m not sure like like how how ready I’d be to to attack that the evolution olution of a coach Mir is the evolution of a game and I know when you were with Brooklyn you turned Brook Lopez into a three-point shooter at least started that trajectory Quincy AC doesn’t get mentioned in the same round as Al Horford and Brook Lopez do when you when you looked at those big guys when you first got around them what attributes did you see in their games that made you think hey maybe these guys can shoot more threes and I know you just got here but do you see some of those attributes in Jared and Evan yes and I I I think when it comes to the shooting piece you have to there’s analytics right like you gotta you got is are is there evidence that this guy can be be a three-point shooter I know with Al horf I did a deep dive into his mid-range shooting freeto shooting is actually connected to three-point shooting uh there’s a there’s a correlation between the two um so Evan definitely there there’s there’s good he trending definitely trending in the right um um Right Way ja we’re going to have to deep Keep Deep diving on that you know am I close to that idea no am I open to it yeah cuz that’s you know that’s how you can make the next jump but I I I definitely think uh that’s going to be part of the growth and and am I going to say evans’s going to shoot nine threes like Brooke did you know I told Brooke hey I’d love you to shoot more threes and all of a sudden he goes from zero to nine a game or whatever I think you ever saw that coming yeah but he embraced it so but you know Evan’s got so many other you know he’s a great driver he can post up and you know he’s got a lot of things so but we’re going to take some R I think development you have to take risks to get guys to the next level you got to take some risks and and we’re I’m I’m willing to do that even if the short term doesn’t doesn’t doesn’t look great without getting too specific I know you’re coaching the French national team in the upcoming Olympics yeah how much from that International experience in international offensive basketball do you think will end up translating into what you eventually make the Cs Playbook I don’t think people realize the influence the international game has on the NBA right now and and the explosion of of offensive efficiency it to me it’s correlated because there’s a new wave of coach is coming in it’s a much more um we keep an eye on on on on the international game and there’s a lot of Concepts a lot of ideas and they’re evolving I I I I just we run a a set in France that I’m like with Team France I’m like I’m taking this like i’ never seen it before and you think you seen everything but you know it it’s just a it’s a different game they know how to manipulate space probably better than us because there’s no defensive three set so they have to be so precise with their spacing and and uh so I’m going to come back from this experience this Olympic experience with Team France as as a better Coach and that that’s why I’m doing it for really I mean obviously first I help Team France and win a gold medal and all that but the second part of it is I know it’s going to make I’m going to come back a better Coach we got two more for you coach when you talk to the players I know it’s just introductory conversations not too much of deep Dives but how excited are they to get incorporate into what a Kenny ainson offense is going to look like yeah I think yeah that’s the first Fe you know the feedback I get like let’s go you know maybe some exper in there you know like I hope they’re excited yeah yeah like these guys you know they and listen I I do I pretty sure my my uh reputation as a collaborator with players right like I will you know Max stru is going to have some you know the back screen slip outs that that SPO did and and Donovan’s got the you know great stuff from Utah and Quinn you know can we do all of it no but there’s going to be elements that that that that they bring to the table their experiences and I’m I’m I’m going to I’m going to I’m going to lean on them I’m going to collaborate with them so um and hopefully in the in the end it comes out man we’re we’re we’re we’re not going into at the door you know getting into the top 10 and offensive efficiency and last but not least when you were in Brooklyn the Cavs made a trade for Kyrie Irving and that acquired a Brooklyn pick from Boston that was directly tied to hoping Brooklyn would tank yeah and that didn’t necessarily pan out you you and Kobe ever talk about that during the interview process that you guys screw up some of their plans we did not but I’m going talk to him after I’m going to remind him you know and and that was great and you know what was great about but the directive was never because of our because we didn’t have any picks so directive was like wi like comp compete compete I I always the proudest kind of part about the Brooklyn experience was just getting feedback from media and and coaches like man you guys compete like you compete hard and and and and uh and take that part too to Cle right like this is a competitive team but can we can we compete even harder can we compete more consistently and and then for longer periods than they’ve done in the past that that’s that’s kind of the challenge awesome that’s Kenya acson the new head coach of the Cleveland cavali appreciate it best of luck here in Cleveland see you appreciate you awesome

The Cleveland Cavaliers introduced Kenny Atkinson as the team’s new head coach on Monday and after his introductory press conference, Atkinson sat down with McNuggets for a quick, exclusive 1-on-1 interview.

The two talked about Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in terms of shooting, how Donovan Mitchell & Darius Garland fit into his offense and what he’ll bring back from Europe as he coaches the French National Team in the Olympics.

Just four days after the Wine & Gold welcomed their top Draft pick to town, the Cavaliers practice facility was buzzing once again on Monday morning as President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman introduced the man who’ll be guiding Cleveland into its future – Kenny Atkinson.

With his wife and children looking on proudly, the 57-year-old New York native spoke of the task at hand and how much he appreciated being chosen as the head coach to take it on. He’ll inherit a more talented roster than he ever had in Brooklyn, and he seemed eager to grab a whistle and get after it on Monday.

“Knowing the players that are in place, the personality, (Cleveland) is doing it with high-character players, and I don’t say that lightly,” said Atkinson. “I don’t just say that. I know it. Because when you go for these jobs, you do your background on them, they do their background on me. I did (Cleveland’s) background, and I was like: Man, I remember Kobe and I met, the first thing I said, was: ‘I want this job, I’m going for it and I’m going to be aggressive.’ I knew all the great things that were in place.”

In his nearly four years with Brooklyn, Atkinson took over a team that, itself, was rebuilding – attempting to rebound from the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett trade, while dealing with constant roster turnover and an ownership change.

Atkinson still guided the Nets to an eight-win improvement from his first season to his second, and a 14-win jump from his second season to his third – leading the Nets to a 42-40 record and a trip back to the Playoffs, where they fell to Philly in five games.

After being dismissed late in the 2019-20 season, Atkinson spent the 2020-21 season with the Clippers as an assistant under Ty Lue before joining Steve Kerr’s Golden State staff the following year. On Monday, he reflected on how invaluable both stops were in his continued development as a head man.

“I think using my experience with those two situations can make me a better coach,” said Atkinson. “And I sold that to Kobe. I said, I look back and there are so many things I could do better. And then I saw it live, I saw it. I was in kind of like: Look, how does Steve do it? How does Ty do it? And I think it’s really going to help me.

“And I do think one of my strengths is, I think the league is changing, and can you get ahead of the league? What’s happening? How quickly is it happening and how are we shifting? And I think me and my staff, that’ll be a strength of ours. We will be able to be right with the league, or be a step ahead.”

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