Report: Cleveland Cavaliers Won't Fire Kenny Atkinson

The Cleveland Cavaliers won't fire head coach Kenny Atkinson, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. 

Atkinson is returning as coach of the Cavaliers for a third season.

The New York Knicks swept the Cavaliers in this year's conference finals. Cleveland beat the Toronto Raptors in the first round in seven games and took out the Detroit Pistons in the second round in seven games.  

Atkinson was asked about his future with the Cavaliers after the Knicks won Game 4 on Monday. 

"I have confidence -- confidence in myself, first of all, confidence in the group," Atkinson said when asked about his job security following Game 4. "The roster talk, that's for down the line. Our front office has done a phenomenal job giving us a great roster. Obviously, there'll be decisions to be made like every summer, but I think we're doing pretty well with those decisions since I've been here. Just keep trusting. Trusting our process. Trust our collaboration."

The Cavaliers advanced to their first conference finals since 2018 this year, the furthest the team has gone without LeBron James on the roster since 1992. However, their season ended in a sweep by the Knicks and each game was decided by double digits.  

The Cavaliers should have won Game 1 in New York at MSG. Trailing by 22 points with 8:19 left in the fourth quarter of Game 1, the Knicks had Jalen Brunson go at James Harden on defense and it got ugly for Harden and Co. 

The result was a 44-11 flurry by New York in the fourth quarter and overtime, completing one of the greatest comebacks in NBA history with a 115-104 victory.

Harden and Mitchell have close relationships with Atkinson, who was hired by the Cavaliers in 2024 and won the 2024-25 Coach of the Year Award. 

"It's just hilarious," Mitchell said Monday night. "We've done something that we haven't done since 2018. There's going to be criticism everywhere on Kenny, but why?... We did it, but we did it with Kenny. We didn't just go out there and coach ourselves. I love Kenny. We love Kenny. We ride with Kenny and ultimately that's all that matters."

The Cavaliers will be linked to James and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer. There will be an abundance of storylines to track in Cleveland this offseason, but Atkinson isn't going anywhere. 

Atkinson is 116-48 in the regular season and 13-14 in the playoffs with the Cavaliers. 

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