When Will The Cavaliers Hire Their Next Head Coach?

Koby Altman shares his thoughts on the Cleveland Cavaliers' timeline to find their next head coach.

Sep 14, 2022; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman talks to staff and media during an introductory press conference at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time in nearly five years, the Cleveland Cavaliers are searching for their next head coach. This isn’t a process the front office wants to rush and it shouldn’t be. Whoever they bring in will have the important task of bringing this group to the next level.

But when could Cleveland hire their next coach? Koby Altman, Cleveland's President of Basketball Operations, shed a little light on this during his end-of-the-year media availability last Friday.

“I think we'd love to have a coach in place for the draft,” said Altman. “I think that might be even... that'd be probably too aggressive of a timeline. It's when we come up with the right decision for who's the right match for this group. And if it has to drag on a little longer, it does.”

Watch Koby Altman's Full Media Availabilty Below:

The NBA Draft is from June 26-27th this year. If Cleveland ends up following this “aggressive” timeline, then the Cavs could have someone in the position within the next three to four weeks. 

It may not be a straightforward answer, but finding the right person for the job appears to be much more important to Altman than following a specific timeline. 

He continued,” This is such an important decision for us. Like I said, we haven't had a search in a half-decade, so we need to get back together as a group and really talk about criteria, the specific questions, who we want from a cultural standpoint, create a list and then really dive deep into those candidates, get to a finalist. But I wouldn't say it's something that we need to rush.”

Sep 14, 2022; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman talks to staff and media during an introductory press conference at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cavs already have a few names at the top of their list as numerous reports indicate to.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Tuesday that the Wine and Gold currently have two names at the top of their list.

”I definitely think Kenny Atkinson and James Borrego are at the top of the list,” said Windhorst.

This lines up with a report from The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd who said on Sunday that Atkinson appeared to be Cleveland’s current top candidate.

Shams Charania of The Athletic also reported that Atkinson and Borrego were contenders the moment that J.B. Bickerstaff’s dismissal was announced. 

Both Atkinson and Borrego were head coaches in the past which could meet the “certain criteria” that Koby Altman alluded to last Friday. 

It appears Cleveland will take their time to make sure they find the best fit for the future.