There have been “rumbles in coaching circles” that Kenny Atkinson’s job is becoming less safe amid the Cavaliers‘ recent stumbles and their disappointing 15-14 record, Marc Stein of The Stein Line states in his latest Substack column (subscription required). Atkinson led the Cavs to the best record in the East a year ago in his first season with the team, but a second-round playoff ouster and this season’s shaky start have built up frustrations in Cleveland.
A report that owner Dan Gilbert is “very unhappy” with the team’s recent play provides another reason to be concerned about Atkinson’s job security. The Cavaliers headed into the season expecting to challenge New York for the top spot in the East, but they’re currently in play-in territory after dropping eight of their last 11 games, with several losses coming against teams near the bottom of the standings.
However, a source tells Stein that Gilbert’s anger is unlikely to result in a quick coaching change. He points out that Gilbert was one of Atkinson’s strongest supporters during the hiring process, preferring him over James Borrego, who’s now the interim head coach in New Orleans.
Stein shares more inside information from around the league:
- After speculating in a recent column that the struggling Clippers might listen to offers for James Harden before the deadline, Stein heard from a rival front office member who’s expecting Harden to be made available in trade talks. Stein points out that as a one-year Bird Rights signee who remained with his team, Harden has the ability to veto any trade he doesn’t like. Harden’s new contract technically covers two seasons, but it contains a player option with a partial guarantee.
- With Domantas Sabonis projected to miss at least four-to-five more weeks while recovering from a partially torn meniscus in his left knee, Stein points out that there’s a chance he might not return to the court by the February 5 trade deadline, which is roughly six-and-a-half weeks away. Stein states that it’s unclear if the Kings are willing to listen to trade offers for the former All-Star center, as they prefer to part with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. However, there’s sure to be league-wide interest in Sabonis if the front office commits to a full rebuilding project.
- Stein hears that rival teams are getting the impression that the Bulls are more willing to consider trading Coby White than they’ve been in the past. White has an expiring $12.9MM contract this season and is headed for unrestricted free agency next summer. Stein notes that White’s modest salary complicates Chicago’s effort to get back equivalent value in a deal, since he’s unlikely to sign an extension before reaching unrestricted free agency next summer.
With the Clippers its not like they have a chance to get their pick back this year. If some contending team is willing to give 1st or multiple 2nds they might as well jump on that. They can’t get penalized as a tanking team due to holding no value. They need to get younger, they have no future picks.
They get the worst with OKC in 2027 swap so they need to focus on not sucking that year.
Clippers have their 2028 pick unprotected.
Get worse worst in 2029 with 76ers.
Atkinson isn’t the one who didn’t trade Garland when they had a chance. Atkinson isn’t the one who extended Allen. Atkinson isn’t the one who traded for Lonzo. A team that keeps bringing back the same formula that leads to disappointing second round exits 3 years in a row losing in pretty much same fashion deserves to be exactly where they are. Lousy job by the GM.
I’m sure he had input, but I doubt Cleveland’s GM, Mike Gansey, has the final say on player decisions. Team president Koby Altman, on the other hand, has done an admirable job building this roster. He was heavily criticized for going all in on Donovan Mitchell, and while they haven’t won a championship, the team has had more success since that trade than at any point since the 90’s other than the seasons in which LeBron was there.
They also haven’t lost in the same fashion every season. Last year, they dealt with significant injuries to key starters during the playoffs. The season before that, they lost to the eventual champions. In Mitchell’s first season with the team, they were eliminated in the first round while still adjusting to a major roster change.
They acquired Jarrett Allen in a strong trade and then locked him up on a team friendly extension. Letting him walk would have made no sense. They were over the cap and only able to retain him using Bird rights. You don’t let an asset like Allen walk away for nothing when you have no realistic replacement.
They probably should trade Garland, but doing so would require getting someone back who can reasonably match his production.
They also knew when they signed Lonzo that he wouldn’t be available every game. The hope is that, similar to Alex Caruso, he’ll be healthy and impactful when it matters most in the playoffs.
Under Bickerstaff, in the 22-23 season, they got knocked out in the 1st round in their 1st time making the playoffs.
The media started calling for Bickerstaff to be fired.
The 23-24 season, they suffered tons of injuries.
Garland, Mobley and Spida all played 57 or fewer games.
The media claimed that Bickerstaff should be fired if they didn’t get past the 1st round.
They beat Orlando in the 1st round and faced the Celtics in the 2nd.
The Celtics were a juggernaut that season.
No one expected the Cavaliers to win that series.
But many media people still said that Bickerstaff should be fired.
Last year was the first season they could rightly expect to get past the 2nd round.
And this year they are playing poorly.
Meanwhile the coach that everyone was saying needed to be fired has another young team rolling.
So yeah, I can see why Dan Gilbert might be thinking he made a mistake.
Wow, how the mighty have fallen. All due respect to Stein but what garbage clickbait. Atkinsons job is in absolute 0 jeopardy this year, and Harden is available in trade talks, but only if he approves.
Is it time for Kings and Clippers to blow it up. Only the Kings control their picks. It’s probably wise for them to do it. Unless Clippers move Harden and Kawhi. They won’t be able to ……
Sabonis, DeM DeR, Westbrook >> to Cavs ….
Garland, Allen, Ball, 2026 #1 pick >> to Kings ….
Garland for Sabonis conceptually is interesting … but that trade overall would be horrible for Cavs
I don’t blame Gilbert for being upset. Especially when he looks around and sees the coach that everyone was saying needed to go, doing so well in Detroit.
The same coach that had his team improving each season.