Latest news with #KennyAtkinson
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cleveland Confident In Title Chances After Learning From Playoff Exit
Cleveland Confident In Title Chances After Learning From Playoff Exit originally appeared on Fadeaway World. The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering the 2025-26 season with no shortage of self-belief. According to Chris Fedor, there's a sense within the organization that the team has the pieces, chemistry, and experience needed to make a legitimate run at a championship. 'Rightfully so, there's a lot of confidence from Kenny [Atkinson], and there's a lot of confidence from people inside this organization that the Cavs are ready to compete for a championship,' Fedor said. 'And they do believe that they learned what they needed to learn. We'll see — it has to play itself out. But they do believe they learned what they needed to learn from the latest playoff exit.' The Cavaliers fell on tough times after the departure of LeBron James in 2018. It took years to return to contention in the East, but things finally started trending their way with the addition of Donovan Mitchell in 2022. In just a few years, Mitchell transformed the Cavs into a top contender in the East, and last season was arguably their best stretch since their latest Finals run. With Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, the Cavaliers managed to finish first in the standings at 64-18. They had a +9.5 average point differential (second-best in the NBA) and went into the playoffs as one of the favorites to win the East. Unfortunately, after a round one sweep over the Miami Heat, the Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Semis, winning just one out of five games. Going into next season, the Cavs are facing overwhelming pressure to achieve real playoff success. Fortunately, they are set to run it back with a few new additions: Lonzo Ball and Larry Nance Jr. Besides gaining valuable experience in the playoffs, they were able to confront their flaws and identify key areas of struggle: shooting, physicality, and late-game execution in the clutch. The biggest thing for the Cavaliers next season is that most of their competitors will be off the board. In Boston, the Celtics are expected to experience a down year, with Jayson Tatum set to miss most of the regular season. There's also the Pacers, who lost their starting center (Myles Turner) weeks after watching their star point guard suffer a torn right Achilles tendon. The only real competition in the East is the New York Knicks, who may experience some growing pains after replacing head coach Tim Thibodeau with Mike Brown. If the Cavs can just stay healthy and use what they learned in last year's series, they'll have the advantage in this matchup and should have an open path to the Finals. As it stands, the Cavaliers have never been in a better position to reclaim the East. With a healthy roster, valuable playoff lessons, and a weakened field of contenders, the odds have never been more in their favor. If they fall short again, however, the pressure to make a seismic move will be unavoidable — and a reunion with LeBron James could be the boldest way to keep their championship window wide open. If nothing else, Cleveland's self-assurance sets the tone for a season that could define this era of Cavaliers basketball. They've invested heavily in their core, trusted in their continuity, and cleared a path through a conference suddenly short on proven contenders. Now comes the real test, proving that confidence isn't just talk, but the first step toward a parade in downtown story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Aug 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cavaliers' Darius Garland may not be ready for start of training camp after toe surgery
"I feel great. The recovery process is going well." That is all Darius Garland would say to Chris Fedor of about surgery on his big toe back in June after that injury severely limited him in the playoffs, a key reason for the Cavaliers' early second-round exit. Fedor next asked Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson about Garland's recovery and learned the All-Star point guard may not be ready for the start of training camp. Here is what Fedor said on the Wine and Gold podcast about talking to Atkinson. 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... "We have Don (Donovan Mitchell). We have Lonzo (Ball). We have CP (Craig Porter Jr.). We are kind of covered. We also have Evan (Mobley), where we can throw it to him in a trail position and have him be a play-maker." The Cavaliers should not rush it. How important Garland is to the Cavaliers' success was clearly evident in the playoffs — they need him fully healthy. Last season, Garland averaged 20.6 points and 6.7 assists per game, shooting 40.1% from 3. In the playoffs that fell off to 18 points and 5.2 assists a game, but he played in just five postseason games because of the turf toe injury and was far less efficient, shooting just 28.6% from 3. Cleveland enters the season as the clear favorite to grab the No. 1 seed in the East this coming season, but they need to prove they can carry that over to the playoffs this time. Coming off a 64-win season and with a very deep team, Atkinson can afford to monitor and rest players more while still racking up plenty of wins to get the top seed. What matters more is a rested and healthy Cavaliers team heading into the playoffs, because that team has a legitimate chance to make the Finals. What matters is the big picture. And if that means Garland misses some of training camp, that's just fine.
Al Arabiya
14-07-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman signs extension, AP source says
Cleveland – Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman has signed a contract extension through the 2029-30 season, a person with knowledge of the deal said Monday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the signing has not yet been announced. ESPN first reported the deal. General manager Mike Gansey and assistant GM Brandon Weems also received extensions. Altman has been with Cleveland since 2012. He has been in his current position since January 2022 after being named general manager in July 2017. The Cavaliers won 64 games this past season and finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2016 when they won their only NBA championship. Cleveland swept Miami in the first round but was eliminated by eventual Eastern Conference champion Indiana in five games in the conference semifinals. Altman rebuilt the roster after four straight trips to the NBA Finals (2015-18) and a 2016 NBA title during LeBron James's second stint. Altman drafted Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, the franchise's first NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He also acquired Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen in trades. His boldest move though came at the end of the 2023-24 season when he fired J.B. Bickerstaff as coach and replaced him with Kenny Atkinson. With Atkinson in charge, Cleveland got off to a fast start this past season becoming the fourth team in NBA history to win at least its first 15 games. It is the third team in league history to have at least three streaks of 12 wins in a season, including a 16-game run from Feb. 3 to March 14. Atkinson was named NBA Coach of the Year. The Cavaliers are above both aprons of the salary cap, but they acquired veteran point guard Lonzo Ball from Chicago for forward Isaac Okoro and signed forward/center Larry Nance Jr.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman signs extension, AP source says
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman has signed a contract extension through the 2029-30 season, a person with knowledge of the deal said Monday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the signing has not yet been announced. ESPN first reported the deal. Advertisement General manager Mike Gansey and assistant GM Brandon Weems also received extensions. Altman has been with Cleveland since 2012. He has been in his current position since January 2022 after being named general manager in July 2017. The Cavaliers won 64 games this past season and finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2016, when they won their only NBA championship. Cleveland swept Miami in the first round but was eliminated by eventual Eastern Conference champion Indiana in five games in the conference semifinals. Altman rebuilt the roster after four straight trips to the NBA Finals (2015-18) and a 2016 NBA title during LeBron James' second stint. Advertisement Altman drafted Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, the franchise's first NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He also acquired Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen in trades. His boldest move though came at the end of the 2023-24 season when he fired J.B. Bickerstaff as coach and replaced him with Kenny Atkinson. With Atkinson in charge, Cleveland got off to a fast start this past season, becoming the fourth team in NBA history to win at least its first 15 games. It is the third team in league history to have at least three streaks of 12 wins in a season, including a 16-game run from Feb. 3 to March 14. Atkinson was named NBA Coach of the Year. Advertisement The Cavaliers are above both aprons of the salary cap, but they acquired veteran point guard Lonzo Ball from Chicago for forward Isaac Okoro and signed forward/center Larry Nance Jr. ___ AP NBA: Joe Reedy, The Associated Press
Associated Press
14-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman signs extension, AP source says
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman has signed a contract extension through the 2029-30 season, a person with knowledge of the deal said Monday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the signing has not yet been announced. ESPN first reported the deal. General manager Mike Gansey and assistant GM Brandon Weems also received extensions. Altman has been with Cleveland since 2012. He has been in his current position since January 2022 after being named general manager in July 2017. The Cavaliers won 64 games this past season and finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2016, when they won their only NBA championship. Cleveland swept Miami in the first round but was eliminated by eventual Eastern Conference champion Indiana in five games in the conference semifinals. Altman rebuilt the roster after four straight trips to the NBA Finals (2015-18) and a 2016 NBA title during LeBron James' second stint. Altman drafted Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, the franchise's first NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He also acquired Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen in trades. His boldest move though came at the end of the 2023-24 season when he fired J.B. Bickerstaff as coach and replaced him with Kenny Atkinson. With Atkinson in charge, Cleveland got off to a fast start this past season, becoming the fourth team in NBA history to win at least its first 15 games. It is the third team in league history to have at least three streaks of 12 wins in a season, including a 16-game run from Feb. 3 to March 14. Atkinson was named NBA Coach of the Year. The Cavaliers are above both aprons of the salary cap, but they acquired veteran point guard Lonzo Ball from Chicago for forward Isaac Okoro and signed forward/center Larry Nance Jr. ___ AP NBA:
