Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Mobley, Allen, Wade
Returning home with a 2-0 deficit for the second straight series, the Cavaliers plan to lean heavily on Donovan Mitchell in tonight’s Game 3, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. The star guard issued a calming message after his team lost by 16 points in Game 2.
“I’m not sitting here like, oh man, scrambling and trying to figure things out,” Mitchell said. “At the end of the day, we make some shots, we’ll be in good shape. … We’ll make our adjustments. We’ll be at home and protect home court.”
Collier notes that Mitchell already rescued the Cavs’ season in January when they got off to a disappointing 17-16 start after posting the best record in the East last year. Mitchell’s usage rate increased as he took on an expanded role in the offense, and he provided a source of encouragement in the locker room by expressing belief in his teammates.
“He’s our vocal leader. He’s our leader in general,” Dean Wade said. “We go as he goes. When we were having a little rough parts of the season, he was just monumental. He just kept us together, didn’t let us split at all, kept everything positive.”
There’s more from Cleveland:
- Meeting with reporters before Game 3, coach Kenny Atkinson dispelled rumors that Mitchell is dealing with an injury, relays Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link). “Normal bumps and bruises, nothing you’re like ‘oh man,'” Atkinson said. “That’s his feedback, knows his body better than anybody else. ‘I’m fine coach.’ … guys are going to be banged up. That’s part of it.”
- The Cavaliers will need more scoring from Evan Mobley, who didn’t take a single shot in the second half of Thursday’s game, per Joe Reedy of The Associated Press. Center Jarrett Allen, who had 13 points in the loss, agrees with Atkinson’s assessment that the team needs better execution on its pick-and-rolls. “Sometimes I feel like we can just go set the pick, stop waiting for a play, stop waiting for somebody to call us up, and just run the offense from ourselves, not necessarily taking the ball and bringing it up the court, but initiating the offense by just going and setting a screen out of the blue,” Allen said.
- Atkinson and Mitchell both said the team had the right “process” for Game 2, even though it didn’t result in a victory, according to Ryan Lewis of The Akron Beacon Journal. The Cavs were betrayed by their shooting as they connected at just 38.8% from the field and 25.7% from 3-point range. “I thought we had a lot of good looks, a lot of good looks from three, good looks at the rim — I thought our process was right,” Atkinson said. “[We] took care of the ball, offensive rebounded. I think it wasn’t a great shooting night. At the end of the day, you got to put the ball in the hole.”
- Atkinson decided to keep his starting lineup intact instead of replacing Wade, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).
Coaching Rumors: Kidd, Bryant, Klei, Bailey, Cook
Could Jason Kidd resurface with the Trail Blazers? It’s not out of the question, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.
It’s natural that Kidd, who parted ways with the Mavericks this week, would be a potential candidate for any head coach opening.
Kidd has quietly been connected to Portland within league circles, according to Scotto, though it’s uncertain whether the Blazers will make a serious run at him or if he’ll want to pursue the job.
New majority owner Tom Dundon‘s cost-cutting measures make it unlikely that the Blazers would meet Kidd’s market value. Kidd is still owed $40MM+ from the Mavericks, who are eating the final four years of his contract. Kidd has also expressed interest in making personnel decisions and Portland’s GM Joe Cronin signed a multi-year extension last year. The Blazers are already in the process of conducting coaching interviews with at least a handful of candidates coming in for in-person interviews.
However, Scotto also notes that Damian Lillard, who will be back in action next season after recovering from an Achilles tear, has previously expressed interest in having Kidd as his head coach. Back in 2021, the last time Portland had a coaching search, Lillard told Yahoo Sports, “Jason Kidd is the guy I want.”
Portland ultimately chose Chauncey Billups, who was arrested and placed on leave amid a federal probe into illegal gambling at the start of this past season.
Here’s more coaching intel from Scotto:
- Cavaliers associate head coach Johnnie Bryant is a potential candidate for the Bulls’ head coaching vacancy, Scotto reports. Bryant was a finalist for the Suns’ head coaching job last summer before Jordan Ott was chosen.
- The Hawks could be making an in-house hire. The coach of the G League’s College Park Skyhawks, Steven Klei, is a candidate to be promoted to Quin Snyder‘s NBA staff, per Scotto. There are a couple of openings on the staff after Butler hired Ronald Nored to be their head coach and Conner Varney as an assistant.
- Hawks assistant Bryan Bailey was among the candidates who interviewed for the Trail Blazers‘ head coaching job, according to Scotto. Bailey joined Snyder in Atlanta after serving as an assistant on Snyder’s Utah staff.
- The Trail Blazers contacted the Cavaliers for permission to speak with assistant coach Omar Cook regarding a possible assistant coaching position, Scotto writes. Cook played for Portland during the 2003/04 season.
Cavaliers Notes: Culture, Mitchell, Tyson, Process
One of the hardest things a team can do is try to rebuild an identity from scratch after the departure of a superstar, but that’s what the Cavaliers have done in the years since LeBron James‘ second departure, Dave McMenamin writes for ESPN.
“When LeBron left, we just fell flat on our faces because we just weren’t rooted in anything,” a team source told ESPN. “We weren’t rooted in anything foundational in terms of culture or team-building or player development. We were just rooted in the culture of LeBron.”
After several years of slowly setting pieces in place, the Cavs’ rebuild took a leap forward when they brought in Donovan Mitchell. The athletic shooting guard quickly became a steadying influence on the team, both as a leader in the locker room and a rising tide on the floor. His leadership emphasized empowering and preparing the younger players on the team for the rigors that come with being a top team in the league.
“Four years without him, in the rebuild: one play-in game,” a team source said of Mitchell. “Four years with him: four playoff appearances, three second-round appearances, a conference finals appearance.”
With Mitchell in place, the Cavaliers became one of the most successful regular season teams in the league, but the highest levels of playoff success still eluded them. Sources told McMenamin that the second-round loss to the Pacers in 2025 was like “getting punched in the face” for the team that had the second-best regular-season record in the league. That disappointment created the necessary conditions to trade Darius Garland for James Harden this season.
“We needed to change … I said it even before we won these two series. We’re a better team,” coach Kenny Atkinson said of the Harden deal. “I’ve been saying, ‘We’re a better team, we’re a better team, we’re a better team.’ And even though with James, it’s not perfect because we’ve only been together [for] two and a half months. …I’ll take the character and kind of toughness we added over that.”
We have more from the Cavaliers:
- Mitchell appeared limited by an injury of some sort in Game 1, which prompted conversations, including on the broadcast, about his health status during Game 2, which he started more tentatively than usual. He denied any such injury, writes Stephen Whyno of AP News, saying that he felt “great.” However, Atkinson was less ready to dismiss the idea. “Donovan, he’s not complaining about it to me,” the coach said. “I did see him trying to work through it — probably some stiffness. But I asked him if he wanted to come out in the fourth quarter and he’s like, ‘I’m fine,’ so I think he’s fine.” Game 3 on Saturday night will be Cleveland’s seventh game in 13 days, whereas the Knicks got well over a week to rest after their second-round sweep of the Sixers. The Cavs star isn’t letting that be an excuse, though. “We’re not tired,” Mitchell said. “We’re not tired. We’re ready to go for Game 3.“
- Jaylon Tyson was one of the Cavs’ standout role players this season, raising his points per game from 3.6 as a rookie to 13.2 in his second year while making 42 starts. After playing just 10 minutes over the last three games of the team’s seven-game series against the Pistons, Tyson didn’t see the court in Game 1 against the Knicks. Atkinson said after the first loss that he wasn’t ruling out Tyson and that his decision had been more about how he felt about the group that was already on the floor, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “He’s still alive. We’ll need him,” Atkinson said prior to Game 2. “Don’t know if it’s tonight, but he’s right there. We were playing well with the group we had out there most of the game. He’s in the bullpen warming up.” The 6’6″ guard ended up playing over 10 minutes on Thursday, the most playing time he’d seen since May 9, but he struggled to find the range from deep, going 0-for-3 on three-pointers.
- Despite the 2-0 hole the Cavs find themselves in, they believe in the way they’ve approached the series, Joe Vardon writes for The Athletic. “Our process was right tonight,” Mitchell said after Game 2. Despite not taking a single shot in the fourth quarter, Evan Mobley used the same terminology, saying, “It was definitely the right process. There’s definitely a few possessions you want back and a few turnovers and stuff like that, but overall, I feel like we played a pretty good game.” One aspect of the Cavs’ process was forcing the ball away from Knicks star Jalen Brunson and into Josh Hart‘s hands. For a quarter, it looked like it was working, but Hart caught fire beginning in the second quarter and finished the game with 26 points on 5-of-11 shooting from three.
- Still, the Cavaliers aren’t heading back to Cleveland feeling defeated, writes ESPN’s Jamal Collier. “That’s just how our whole playoffs have been, our back against the wall,” Jarrett Allen said. “We like to keep things interesting. We like to keep everybody stressing about what the next game is going to be like. This is no different from what we’re doing now. We’ve got to take care of home court.” The Cavs shot just 25.7% from three in Game 2, with sharpshooters Max Strus and Sam Merrill combining to go 1-for-11. They’re relying on their role players finding the range now that they’ll be at home for the next two games.
Knicks Notes: Hart, Brunson, Bridges, Robinson, Alvarado
Knicks forward Josh Hart was on the bench for much of the fourth quarter and overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday as the team completed a historic 22-point comeback with Landry Shamet taking his place on the floor. The Knicks were outscored by 23 points when Hart was on the court in Game 1, and he made just 1-of-5 three-point tries.
It initially looked like Thursday might be another rough night for Hart, who missed his first three outside shots in the Game 2 as the Cavaliers‘ defense let him have open looks. But by the end of the night, Hart had emerged as the Knicks’ leading scorer and most effective all-around player, writes Fiifi Frimpong of The New York Daily News (subscription required). He racked up 26 points, seven assists, and a pair of steals while knocking down 5-of-11 total three-pointers in the 109-93 victory.
“Those first three, they felt good,” Hart said after the game. “Kind of frustrated with it. I’ve been putting in the reps with (assistant coaches Kwadzo Ahelegbe) and Peter Patton and I was frustrated at first. I’m just like, ‘It is not translating right now.’ And then I knew I had to just keep shooting and if I did that, I’ll be good.”
Speaking to reporters, head coach Mike Brown said he never considered going away from Hart as he struggled early in Game 2. As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic relays, Brown explained that the versatile forward is “so impactful as a connector” that he can have an impact on winning even when his shot isn’t falling.
“It’s easy for me to say because I have the utmost confidence in the world in him,” Brown said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). “He’s a gamer. When you have guys who are gamers, they do stuff that people don’t think they can do. And he knows the work he puts in. We know the work he puts in. His confidence is not going to waver. He’s going to put confidence in himself to take the next one and make the next one.”
Here’s more on the Knicks, who will head to Cleveland with a 2-0 lead in the Eastern finals:
- After playing hero in Game 1 by scoring 16 fourth-quarter points, Jalen Brunson had the ball forced out of hands on Thursday by the Cavaliers, who were determined not to let the star point guard beat them in Game 2, notes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Brunson had no problem adjusting, setting a new career playoff high by handing out 14 assists. “It just shows that he plays the right way,” teammate Mikal Bridges said. “If you’re not going to send a double-team, I think it’s an advantage for him. If you send a double-team, he’s going to read and react and find the open guy. Ever since I’ve known him, he plays the right way. Kudos to him, how he works, and his understanding of the game. If you’re going to come (double-team him), he’s going to make you pay and that’s what makes him great.”
- Speaking of Bridges, he continues to be everything the Knicks hoped for when they gave up five first-round picks to acquire him and signed him to a $150MM extension, says Howie Kussoy of The New York Post. Bridges has been the Knicks’ primary defender on James Harden and has scored 37 points on 16-of-23 shooting (69.6%) through the first two games of the series. “He’s an amazing player,” Knicks forward OG Anunoby said. “He’s been his whole career. I’m not surprised at all. This is Mikal. He’s a great player.”
- While it hasn’t prevented the Knicks from building a 2-0 lead in the series, Mitchell Robinson‘s poor free throw shooting remains a concern for the team, as Jared Schwartz of The New York Post observes. After making 2-of-8 shots from the line in Game 1, Robinson missed all four of his attempts in Game 2, resulting in Brown playing him just three minutes in the second half.
- Trade deadline acquisition Jose Alvarado has averaged just 7.5 minutes per night through the first two games vs. Cleveland, but he’s having a real impact on the team even when he’s not on the court, according to the Knicks’ head coach. “We actually pointed it out to our group in practice,” Brown said on Thursday, per Schwartz. “You watch the film, he’s uplifting the entire team when he’s on the bench. He’s always talking in a positive way. He’s showing our young guys that you can impact the game if you’re present, because Jose’s always present. You’re using your voice and your energy, guys feel that on the floor. Jose’s been phenomenal.”
Cavs Notes: Game 1 Loss, Harden, Atkinson, Mitchell
After coming back from a 22-point deficit to defeat the Cavaliers in overtime in Game 1, the Knicks weren’t shy about discussing their late-game offensive strategy, as Vincent Goodwill of ESPN writes.
“It was no secret,” head coach Mike Brown told reporters. “We were attacking (James) Harden.”
As Zach Kram of ESPN details, the Knicks player who was being defended by Harden set a screen an incredible 16 times in the fourth quarter, with the team using the strategy at one point to ensure Harden was defending Jalen Brunson on 10 consecutive possessions. After going scoreless on the first two of those possessions, the Knicks scored 18 points on the next eight, including 13 from Brunson alone, Kram writes.
Still, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, head coach Kenny Atkinson said during his post-game media session on Tuesday that he never considered removing Harden from the game as the Cavaliers’ lead slipped away: “He’s been one of our best defenders in these playoffs. I trust him. Smart. Great hands. I didn’t think about that.”
Atkinson doubled down on those comments on Wednesday, placing the blame for the collapse on the Cavaliers’ team defense as a whole rather than on Harden specifically.
“One thing about James: I’ll just defend him,” the Cavs’ coach said, per Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “He’s a good isolation defender, always has been. He’s super smart. I said it [Tuesday] night, he has great hands.
“… Without you, we’re knocked out in the first round,” Atkinson said of his message to Harden. “We’re in a great position, you’ve played great. Sometimes micro experiences get exaggerated. Keep being yourself.”
Here’s more on the Cavs ahead of Game 2:
- Atkinson only used one timeout as the Knicks made their fourth-quarter comeback and still had two left when the fourth quarter concluded, notes Jamal Collier of ESPN. He defended that decision after the game and cited bad luck when he discussed the Cavs’ blown lead. “They hit some really tough shots in that fourth quarter,” Atkinson said. “We got a little unlucky, quite honestly. My only regret, and this can happen when you get a little fatigued, I think it just stopped moving. We were pinging the ball all over the place, great ball movement, and then it just got a little stagnant.”
- Atkinson should have more than just one regret about the way Game 1 played out, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required), who argues that the head coach was one of the “primary culprits” of the improbable late-game collapse. In Fedor’s view, Atkinson should have taken a “clearly exhausted” Harden off the floor or at least adjusted his defensive scheme to stop letting the Knicks switch so easily onto him.
- While Atkinson spoke about getting “unlucky,” Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell offered a harsher assessment of his team’s performance down the stretch, according to Jenna Lemoncelli of The New York Post. “We f–king blew it,” Mitchell said during his post-game media session. “… That can’t happen. But it did. We play in two days. We can’t sit here and let it kill our momentum, kill what we’ve been doing. It’s not a good loss.”
- As discouraging as the Game 1 loss was, Atkinson believes that his team – which has won a pair of elimination games and came back from a 2-0 deficit in the second round against Detroit – has what it takes to bounce back and put it behind them, Braziller writes for The New York Post. “You live between misery and awesomeness in the playoffs, and this is of course misery,” Atkinson said. “But this is probably the fourth miserable game we’ve had in the playoffs. It’s like, ‘OK, get back on the horse.'”
Knicks Notes: Towns, Anunoby, Shamet, Robinson, Dolan
The Knicks‘ usage of Karl-Anthony Towns as a point center in the seven games leading up to Tuesday’s game vs. Cleveland resulted in a 130.5 offensive rating, but the plan hit a snag in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The Cavaliers‘ talented frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen did a better job of neutralizing Towns, who scored just 13 points on 14 shots and had five assists, his lowest single-game total since head coach Mike Brown tweaked the Knicks’ offensive game plan.
“We do feel like we have the personnel to bother him. We’ve got multiple guys who can put pressure on him,” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We’ve gotta be really good with our off-ball defense. They’ve definitely shifted schematically like everybody knows. It’s been … it’s high level so it’s going to be a big part of the series.”
Ultimately though, slowing down Towns wasn’t enough for the Cavaliers to pull off the Game 1 upset and take the lead in the series, as Jalen Brunson led a historic fourth-quarter comeback that resulted in an overtime win. According to the NBA (Twitter link), New York’s 22-point comeback in the fourth quarter was the largest in a conference final game since 1997 and the second-largest in any playoff game during that same span. That outcome left Towns satisfied after the game despite his modest showing.
“I think the Knicks found a way to win tonight, and that’s all that matters,” he said, per Braziller. “It’s not about the individual performances, it’s about this team finding a way to put up a win on the board. I think that’s what’s special.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Knicks forward OG Anunoby acknowledged he had some rust to shake off in his first game back following a hamstring injury, but he finished the game strong, as Howie Kussoy writes for The New York Post. After recording four points and two rebounds in his first 29 minutes of action during regulation, Anunoby helped the Knicks seal the victory with nine points and three boards in overtime. “I felt good,” Anunoby said. “Just continue to play hard, shoot shots and be aggressive. … I don’t think it was hesitancy [early]. Just as the game went on I felt more and more like myself.”
- Even with Anunoby back, Landry Shamet ended up playing a key role for the Knicks, logging 14 of his 17 minutes in the fourth quarter and overtime and making a trio of crucial three-pointers, including one that tied the game during the final minute of regulation, writes Braziller of The New York Post. “He played big time. That’s just who he is. He’s a true professional, ever since he walked into the league,” Brunson said of the minimum-salary vet. “He’s up to any task you put in front of him. He’s been that player, he’s been that player for us. We have utmost faith in him.”
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson had some success against Cleveland in the first half of Game 1, but he was played off the floor in the second half when the Cavaliers began intentionally fouling him, notes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Robinson went 2-of-8 from the free throw line and the Knicks were outscored by seven points during his four minutes on the court in the third quarter. “Mitch has been great for us the last few games in that situation,” Brown said. “We’re gonna continue to give him a chance. We’ll move him around and do some different things with him. Mitch can impact the game in different ways, so we need him on the floor.”
- Knicks owner James Dolan and Madison Square Garden Sports have taken the next step toward splitting the Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers into separate entities. Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico has the details.
Latest On Sixers’ Search For New Head Of Basketball Ops
After his colleague Marc Stein reported that Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey and Phoenix Mercury GM Nick U’Ren were among the possible targets for the Sixers‘ front office vacancy, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) confirms both are expected to interview with Bob Myers this week regarding the position.
Fischer adds another name to Myers’ planned list of interviewees: Timberwolves GM Matt Lloyd, who was a finalist for the Bulls’ top basketball operations job, which ultimately went to Bryson Graham.
According to Fischer, Gansey and Lloyd are both considered future top basketball executives. They’re currently second in command with their respective organizations.
Lloyd began his career with the Bulls in 1999 as a media coordinator and worked his way up to the scouting staff and then senior manager of basketball operations. He became assistant GM in Orlando in 2012 before joining Minnesota in 2022 as senior VP of basketball operations. He was promoted to be the Wolves’ GM two years ago.
While Stein mentioned that 76ers consultant Neil Olshey has been linked to the job, Fischer hears from sources that Olshey isn’t pursuing the position, though he could remain with the team in an advisory capacity. Olshey, a longtime Clippers and Trail Blazers executive, was fired by Portland in 2021 following a workplace misconduct investigation.
Fischer also confirms the Hawks aren’t going to grant the Sixers permission to speak to GM Onsi Saleh and reiterates that 76ers assistant GM Jameer Nelson has many supporters in the organization, whether or not he’s part of the search process.
According to Fischer, rival teams have interest in hiring 76ers VP of player personnel Prosper Karangwa following Daryl Morey‘s dismissal last week.
Thunder executive Vince Rozman, Wizards VP of player personnel Travis Schlenk and Clippers GM Trent Redden have also been linked to Philadephia’s search.
Mike Gansey, Nick U’ren Among Sixers’ Potential Front Office Targets
Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey and Phoenix Mercury GM Nick U’ren are among the potential candidates to watch as the Sixers seek a replacement for Daryl Morey in their front office, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
A longtime Cavaliers staffer who initially joined the team as a basketball operations seasonal assistant in 2011, Gansey has worked his way through Cleveland’s front office over the last decade-and-a-half. He spent three years as the team’s director of G League operations and two as the general manager of the G League team, known at the time as the Canton Charge. Gansey was named the NBAGL’s Executive of the Year in 2017 and earned a promotion to Cavaliers assistant GM later that year.
Gansey was later elevated to a GM role in 2022 during the same offseason that Koby Altman was promoted from GM to president of basketball operations. The veteran executive has since been connected to multiple rival teams’ front office searches, most recently interviewing with the Bulls before they hired Bryson Graham.
U’ren, meanwhile, spent five years in Phoenix with the Suns and Mercury from 2009-14, working in various video room roles. He was hired by the Warriors in 2014 and won four titles with the team over the next nine years while working under Bob Myers. He held multiple positions during that time, including manager of advance scouting, special assistant to the head coach, and director of basketball operations.
U’Ren returned to Phoenix as the Mercury’s general manager after the 2023 WNBA season. After going 9-31 in ’23, the Mercury won 19 games in 2024, then went 27-17 and made the WNBA Finals in 2025.
Stein previously linked 76ers consultant Neil Olshey and Thunder executive Vince Rozman, a former Sixers employee, to Philadelphia’s front office vacancy, while noting that assistant GM Jameer Nelson could be in line for an expanded role.
Morey’s successor in Philadelphia is expected to run the front office on a day-to-day basis and will have “a lot of authority,” though Myers, who is now the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, acknowledged last week that he’ll be involved with the Sixers’ “high-level decision making.”
Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Merrill, Allen, Conference Finals
Donovan Mitchell has enjoyed plenty of memorable playoff moments during his nine years in the NBA, but he never advanced past the second round until the Cavaliers beat the Pistons in Game 7 Sunday night. After contributing 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the 31-point victory, Mitchell called it “a breath of fresh air” to be heading to the conference finals, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.
“Even last year, when we lost to Indiana, we had our goals set on getting to the Finals. We’re just one step closer,” Mitchell said. “But yeah, it’s been almost a decade of running into the same issue. So for sure, I personally, and as a team, we can breathe a little bit.”
Playoff disappointments followed Mitchell from Utah to Cleveland and were especially acute last season when the Cavs were ousted in the second round as the No. 1 seed. They appeared to be headed in that direction again after dropping Game 6 at home on Friday, but they bounced back with a dominant performance, controlling Sunday’s contest from the opening minutes. It was an important victory for a team that was likely headed for major changes with another early exit.
“It does mean something,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “This was the next step for us. First day of training camp, I put up the playoff record over the last three years, 11-15. I’ve been saying all year we have a lot to prove. We still have more to prove. That’s the next part of it, but we proved something to ourselves, that we could take that another step.”
There’s more on the Cavaliers:
- The team’s playoff path hasn’t been easy, going seven games in each of the first two rounds against a pair of physical opponents, but the players see some advantages to all the challenges, Collier adds. “Listen, you’d love to sweep every series, but I think these have been great opportunities for us to get to know each other a little better, develop some more belief and just continue to get better,” Sam Merrill said. “And that’s what the playoffs are about. You got to keep getting better, make adjustments, and then find a way to win.”
- Jarrett Allen, who has been criticized in the past for not delivering in the playoffs, turned in his second straight impressive Game 7, finishing with 23 points and seven rebounds. He received a motivational text from team chairman Dan Gilbert two hours before the game, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reveals in a subscriber-only story, and Gilbert talked to Atkinson about Allen’s importance at a team dinner Saturday night. “He goes, ‘You know who the key to this whole thing is?’ I was thinking (James) Harden, Mitchell. He goes, ‘The key to this whole thing, the spark, is Jarrett Allen. I said, ‘Really?’” Atkinson said after Sunday’s game. “Sometimes you have people who observe from afar. Plus, Dan knows the team well and he knows these guys.”
- The Cavs won’t get much time to rest before facing the Knicks in Game 1 of the conference finals Tuesday night. They brought oversized suitcases on Saturday’s team charter with the expectation of heading to New York instead of just spending two days in Detroit, Fedor states in a separate story (subscription required). “For us, we can’t really look at it and say, ‘All right, we did it, we got to conference finals.’ That’s not the end all,” Mitchell said. “We’ve still got more to do. It’s all about the belief in the locker room. We’ve got each other’s back and that’s the biggest thing. I believe we’ve all been a believer since day one, and we’ve got more work to do. We’re always going to have bumps in the road, but it’s how we stick together. We’ll go to war with each other any day of the week.”
Stein’s Latest: LeBron, Sixers, Magic, Blazers, Giannis
Has LeBron James played his last NBA game? That’s the question Marc Stein wondered on Saturday at his Substack.
Stein and people he trusts around the league think James is likely to play a record-extending 24th season in 2026/27, but Stein acknowledges that no one — maybe not even James — knows the answer.
James, a 21-time All-NBA member, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The 41-year-old’s “runaway preference” would be to remain with the Lakers, Stein writes, and they’re believed to be open to that scenario as well — with a caveat.
According to Stein, Los Angeles would like to bring back LeBron at a “much lower number” than the $52.6MM he made this season. However, Stein views that scenario as “thorny,” since James has never accepted the sort of discounted rate the Lakers might prefer to offer.
Still, the other teams that could appeal to James — the Warriors, Cavaliers, Knicks and Clippers — may not be able to offer him much in free agency either, Stein notes. That might make retirement a more viable option, even though Stein suspects the NBA’s all-time leading will play another season.
Stein also detailed several other items of interest in his Sunday edition of The Stein Line:
- Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, recently said the Sixers‘ new head of basketball operations would have “a lot of authority” but that he expects to be involved in major personnel and roster decisions moving forward. That has led to a “widespread belief” around the league that Myers will explore the possibility of hiring Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh for the job, according to Stein, who points out that Saleh worked with Myers in Golden State. However, Stein hears Saleh is expected to remain with Atlanta, as the 76ers would require permission to speak to him, and that seems unlikely to be granted after Saleh finished second in Executive of the Year voting.
- According to Stein, there have been “rumbles” about the Sixers potentially being intrigued by Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, but he’s still under contract for another year and Minnesota didn’t show any interest in letting him speak to Dallas before the Mavericks decided to hire Masai Ujiri.
- Regardless of what happens with the front office search, Stein has heard chatter throughout the season about Sixers assistant GM Jameer Nelson potentially being promoted to an “expanded role.” The former NBA point guard is highly regarded in Philadelphia and in the league and is “routinely described” as a possible future GM, Stein writes. 76ers consultant Neil Olshey and Thunder executive Vince Rozman, a longtime former Sixers employee, have also been connected to Philadelphia’s front office vacancy after the team fired Daryl Morey.
- The Magic hope to hire an experienced head coach to replace Jamahl Mosley, per Stein, and Billy Donovan is still viewed as a “strong candidate” for the position despite backing out of the same job to return to the University of Florida in 2007. Tom Thibodeau is another experienced coach who remains a free agent, Stein notes.
- Sources tell the Stein Line that Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori can be added to the list of names the Trail Blazers have expressed interest in as they search for a new head coach. For what it’s worth, former Blazers head coach Terry Stotts threw his name into the hat recently as well, texting longtime Oregon sportswriter Dwight Jaynes that he’d like another crack at the job. “I would love to come back to the Blazers and Portland,” Stotts told Jaynes. Stotts, who confirmed his agent has reached out to Portland about the position, spent the last two seasons as the Warriors’ top assistant.
- According to Stein, the following statement from president of basketball operations Brad Stevens is among the reasons the Celtics keep popping up as a potential suitor for Giannis Antetokounmpo: “One of the things that we’ve got to figure out is how to have more of an impact at the rim,” Stevens said. “And I think we do need to add to our team to do that.”