Cleveland Cavaliers Agree To Five-Year Deal With Kenny Atkinson

The Cavaliers have locked down Kenny Atkinson for the foreseeable future.

Mar 4, 2020; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson coaches against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers hired Kenny Atkinson to be their new head coach earlier this week, and now, they have agreed to a five-year deal with him, via ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Atkinson had previously been serving as a Golden State Warriors' assistant for each of the last three seasons.

The 57-year-old has head-coaching experience, as he was head coach of the Brooklyn Nets for three-plus seasons between 2016-17 and 2019-20.

Atkinson went 118-190 with the Nets, leading them to one playoff appearance. He was fired in his fourth season, which may have been a direct result of conflict with newly-minted stars (at the time) Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Overall, Atkinson actually did a pretty decent job in Brooklyn. The Nets won just 20 games in his first year at the helm, but improved to 28 wins in 2017-18. Then, in his third campaign, Brooklyn went 42-40 and made the postseason in spite of having a roster relatively thin on top-level talent.

Atkinson's player development was impressive with the Nets, as he managed to get the very best out of guys like D'Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie.

Now, he will be taking over a Cavaliers team that just went 48-34 and lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Boston Celtics.

There is quite a bit more talent on this Cleveland squad than on the roster he managed in Brooklyn, to say the least.

Atkinson will be taking over a Cavs team that boasts an impressive quartet of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the latter of whom he coached with the Nets.

Atkinson also served one year as an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2020-21.

The move for the Cavaliers comes after the team dismissed J.B. Bickerstaff following the club's postseason exit.