Report: James Borrego, Kenny Atkinson ‘Neck And Neck’ In Cavaliers Coaching Search

According to NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, James Borrego and Kenny Atkinson are “neck and neck” in the Cleveland Cavaliers coaching search. 

Borrego has coached the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets. He is 148-183 in the regular season.

Borrego has never made the playoffs as a head coach. 

Atkinson went 118-190 with the Brooklyn Nets in the regular season. He was 1-4 in the postseason. 

The Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2024 playoffs in five games. JB Bickerstaff was fired. 

According to NBA insiders Michael Scotto (HoopsHype) and Chris Fedor (Cleveland.com), the Cavaliers are expected to hire Borrego or Atkinson.

“I believe, based on the intel I’ve been able to gather, that James Borrego is the leader in the clubhouse for this thing,” Fedor said on Scotto’s podcast. “They’re into the next phase of this interview process, where they’ve taken 10 candidates and shrunk it to four or five finalists. Borrego met with them in person on Tuesday. Atkinson is supposed to meet with them at some point this week as well. I believe Borrego is the leader in the clubhouse and has interviewed well from everything I’ve heard and the intel they’ve gotten back from people close to James, who’ve worked with James and have seen his strengths and weaknesses up close and personal.

“Every general manager has relationships with other organizations across the league. Some of those trustworthy connections are stronger than others. For example, Koby Altman is very close to Justin Zanik, one of the Jazz executives, and they’ve worked out a number of deals. I say that to bring up this point: There are no ties between the Cavaliers and any other organization in the NBA that are stronger than the ones they have with the New Orleans Pelicans.”

“Kenny Atkinson did a video Zoom interview with the Cavaliers, I’m told,” Scotto said. “Atkinson will be an assistant coach on the French National Team this summer. For Atkinson, who has strong relationships with Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert, the big question Cleveland is asking is whether he can coach a team that’s ready to compete now in their eyes. I think so. He had little talent to work with in Brooklyn and maximized it, and the year the Nets made the No. 6 seed, nobody thought they would be that good. I’d like to think if he had more talent, he’d be able to maximize it.”