Dribbles: Kenny Atkinson Era Begins, Jaylon Tyson Expectations, And More From Cavs Camp

October 1, 2024

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ first day of training camp at IMG Academy in Florida. …

1. Well, the Kenny Atkinson era has begun. A couple of Cavaliers played for Atkinson previously — and that would be Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert while with the Nets.

2. Allen described Atkinson as a little “more relaxed” than he was with the Nets, but still remarkably intense. LeVert said he expects Atkinson to become more loud and passionate as things progress. “We haven’t even played a game yet,” LeVert said, via Zoom from camp at IMG Academy in Florida.

3. Before the first day of practice, the Cavs held some individual workouts with players on the roster. That’s an extreme rarity. “We wanted to set the tone today,” Atkinson said. “Those individual workouts go a long way when the minutes start to (accumulate) during the season.”

4. By the way, Allen said he and Atkinson stayed in touch and exchanged texts after Atkinson was fired by the Nets (March 2020) and went on to an assistant job with the Clippers and Warriors. Allen added that their families are pretty close. So it’s good when the self-described “anchor” has a strong relationship with the coach. That doesn’t just help Allen. It helps Atkinson.

5. Two main people with the Cavs own championship rings — Atkinson, from his time with the Warriors, and Tristan Thompson, a starter on the Cavs’ 2016 title team. Hard to believe that was eight years ago.

6. With LeVert back and Isaac Okoro re-signed, it’s hard to see where first-round pick Jaylon Tyson might fit in. But Atkinson suggested that Tyson could be in the line for some occasional minutes.

7. Atkinson on Tyson: “He’s been great in open gym. He’s one of those players who does everything well. He’s been really intriguing and played well on the first day of camp.”

8. Still, it may come down to a numbers crunch. There are only so many players who can squeeze into a 48-minute game. It sounds to me as if Tyson is behind the likes of LeVert, Okoro and Sam Merrill on the depth chart (and obviously behind Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Max Strus).

9. In other words, when you draft a player at No. 20 overall, as the Cavs did with Tyson, it’s with an eye on the future. That’s where Tyson is today — a prospect for the long term. So I wouldn’t get my hopes up on him seeing the floor very often in 2024-25.

10. I do think we will see reserve guard Ty Jerome, though. He appeared in a game-and-half last season before suffering a major foot injury. But those around the team have said they envision Jerome’s skillset being a great fit under Atkinson. For the record, Jerome said he’s happy, healthy and ready to roll.

11. As for Merrill, I saw him at Media Day and congratulated him on being the second-coolest Sam in the building (followed by me but maybe ahead of Cavs PR man Sam Coombs). Merrill just sort of laughed and thanked me, adding that he now has something to shoot for. All I can say is … we shall see. I’ve been the king of Sams in that facility for a while now. And if not the coolest, definitely by far the oldest.