Cleveland Cavs hire Kenny Atkinson, officially introduce him as 24th head coach

INDEPENDENCE — The new sheriff is, finally, in town — or at least now he has his badge.

The Cavaliers officially introduced new head coach Kenny Atkinson at Cleveland Clinic Courts Monday afternoon.

Atkinson becomes the 24th head coach in franchise history and takes over a youthful, competitive team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals under coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who has since taken the head coaching job with the Detroit Pistons.

As NBA free agency rages on, the Cavs now have their coach in place as they try to elevate the roster and contend with the defending champion Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks in a crowded Eastern Conference.

Atkinson and Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman spoke with local media members for nearly 40 minutes Monday, covering a wide range of topics.

Here are the most important takeaways and what it means for the Cavaliers' future.

Kenny Atkinson's reputation for player development was a key factor in Cavaliers naming him head coach

The Cavaliers hope to win now, but they also realize the roster is relatively young.

That sentiment was not only a key element in letting go of Bickerstaff, but also a crucial factor in hiring Atkinson to replace him.

The Cavs wanted a fresh perspective and a new voice to lead their core of talent. They needed someone who they feel can elevate the play of Evan Mobley and Darius Garland especially, but also Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Max Strus and others. That led them to Atkinson.

"I think when we started out and we talked about the 22 wins five years ago, our whole foundation was going to be built on player development. And even though we made a conference semis and we've won 99 games the last two years, that's all well and good, but we don't want to lose focus on that," Altman said. "And at his core, that's who [Atkinson] is. He wants to be on the floor with guys. He wants that sweat equity with guys. And when you have an Evan Mobley who's 23 and a Darius Garland who's 24, they have not reached their potential yet at all, right? They've not peaked yet at all.

"And so when you have a coach that's fastball is player development and you do your research around the game and that's all they say, the best player development coach you can possibly find, that gives me solace to know that that program that we have is going to be the best in the world and we're going to continue to get get guys better."

The Cavaliers remain optimistic that a Donovan Mitchell contract extension is possible

Atkinson and Altman have both recently had conversations with Cavs star Mitchell, and the team remains hopeful a contract extension to keep him in Cleveland for the long haul is on the horizon.

Evan Mobley's progression is key for the Cavaliers' plans for contending in the East

Mobley's progression into a star-level player is clearly one of the top priorities for the Cavaliers. Bickerstaff, Altman and others have long discussed the sky-high potential for Mobley, who began to show glimpses of that dominance in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics.

It's no secret the Cavs are looking for some offensive improvement, which fits Atkinson's resume as a coach. But specifically, the elevation of Mobley's game is a central focus.

"He’s so multi-talented. That was a big part of our discussion during the process, how to get him to the next level," Atkinson said. "I do think we can schematically get the ball in his hands more, quite honestly. It's going to be in multiple ways. I think when you have a guy that versatile, it could be him in transition bringing the ball up, it could be him handling in a five out situation or him handling in pick and roll. I think there's creative things we can do to help him."

The Cavaliers think Evan Mobley can be a top-20, top-15 player in the NBA

In fact, the Cavs say they see a pathway to Evan Mobley joining Donovan Mitchell as a top-20 or top-15 player in the league.

"There's enough to take that next step, no doubt about it," Atkinson said. "But Evan's a big piece of that. I'm going to feel a huge responsibility to help him get to that top 15, top 20, whatever it is. Who knows? Top five? Why not with the skill level and the athleticism and the human being? I don't see why we can't.”

Kenny Atkinson accepted Cavaliers head coaching job while in Paris with Team France

Once the Cavs made their decision to hire Atkinson, Altman was a bit worried it might be difficult to immediately reach him. Atkinson is involved with getting Team France ready for the Olympic Games and was in practice in Paris when Altman called with the offer.

"I spoke to his agent, I said, 'I'm going to try to call him now to offer him the job. Will I be able to get him?' He's in practice probably rebounding for Victor Wembanyama," Altman said with a laugh. "And so I called him and I was worried it was going to ring out. I got five rings. I'm, like, I'm trying to offer the job! He grabs it and I could tell he is kind of fumbling around.

"He gets out the gym and I said, 'Coach, are you in practice?' He said, 'Yeah, I'm in practice.' I said, 'I was worried I wasn't going to get you.' And he said, 'No, I was going to take this one.' So that was kind of the process. But, no, he grabbed it all the way from Paris."

Kenny Atkinson lays out plans for Cavaliers offense

Of course, exact details remain to be uncovered as to what the Cavaliers offense will look like under Atkinson, but it's clear Cleveland will be following a 3-point-heavy approach, which suited them well last season.

"But at the core, you saw it this year in the Finals, the court is spread, the 3-ball is a huge part of it. I do anticipate picking up the pace, shooting more 3s, crashing the glass a little more, I think that's something we could do better," Atkinson said. "But, again, we're gonna do whatever the tweaks necessary to get this to the next level tactically. So definitely, we're hard at work figuring that out right now."

Kenny Atkinson, Mark Madsen discussed Cavs first-round pick Jaylon Tyson

Atkinson had just returned to the United States from Paris when the Cavs selected Jaylon Tyson with the 20th overall pick in the NBA Draft Wednesday night. After the selection of Tyson had been made, Atkinson said he immediately received about 25 texts from people he respects applauding the pick. He also spoke on the phone with Cal coach Mark Madsen for about 20 minutes.

"Of course, college coaches support their guys, but it was over the top," Atkinson said of Madsen's hyping up of Tyson. "He's really excited. Now, he told me he was gonna be in the rotation this year, that's how you know. And I said, 'Mark, the NBA is pretty good.' And who knows, but that's how much he liked [Tyson]. So that's pretty cool."

Kenny Atkinson, Cavaliers focused on maximizing talent of 'core 4'

The Cavaliers watched the Boston Celtics win the title, the New York Knicks get better this offseason and the top of the East in general become more formidable. Their plan to take the next step largely hinges of Atkinson maximizing the talent of the "core 4" players, meaning Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen.

"I'll kind of quote Donovan's old college coach Rick Pitino: 'It starts with if every guy gets a little bit better, every individual gets a little bit better, that’s how you can make the next step,'" Atkinson said. "And then I think we'll have a strong staff that'll make the tactical adjustments that we need to make to move this thing forward."

And when it comes to Garland, Atkinson is just glad to be wearing the same uniform after the Cavs guard torched his teams a few times.

"I've already spoken to Darius multiple times and I am just a huge fan," Atkinson said. "I can't tell you how many times he destroyed us when we were in Brooklyn. He's obviously a great shooter, an underrated passer, so it seems like something that when you have multiple ball handlers.

"And, again, I'll hark back to my Golden State experience, Steph [Curry] and Jordan Poole, you have a lot of pieces, but the talent's there so it's just we're going to work on tweaking this where we maximize those guys."

Kenny Atkinson ready for 'next challenge' with Cavs by taking over a contending team

Atkinson has head coaching experience in his past, but he's walking into a relatively new situation.

The Cavs are built to be a 50-win team with aspirations of reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2018. This isn't a rebuilding project like Atkinson took over in Brooklyn.

The Cavs are focused on their own player development and Atkinson's impact in that regard. But that will be tested in the playoffs, and in the game's biggest moments.

"I do think I have a lot of playoff experience, playoff experience as a head coach, but also as an assistant being in intense moments and being in conference finals, playing against LeBron, like scheming against all these great players," Atkinson said. "So I think the tactics part, and again with the strong staff around me, I think we're going to nail that. I kind of relish that. I think that's an area that I really enjoy. I mean, that's a big reason to coming here, to play in those games and to make those decisions."

Cavaliers, Kenny Atkinson must figure out how to best utilize Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen together

Allen was often viewed as the defensive backbone. Mobley is viewed as one of the most vital parts of the team's long-term future. In the current NBA landscape, though, having both on the floor isn't the most common lineup construction.

Another one of Atkinson's main goals? Maximizing their talents at the same time. But he said his experience with Draymond Green and Kevin Looney as an assistant with Golden State has prepared him for such a task.

"I will say our kind of unique situation here, we've got two bigs that are fast. They're just not big guys," Atkinson said. "Knowing Jarrett really well, he can really get up and down. Evan is a 400-meter sprinter. He's got incredible speed for his size. I will say my experience in Golden State, I think it's going to really help. We played Draymond and Looney together a lot. We won a lot of series like that.

"Knowing how to use those two is going to be important because we want to keep that defensive identity. We want to keep that base. That's so important. Part of my job is going to figure out how we can get those guys, that group with the two bigs, to be more efficient offensively.”

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.