{"id":85017,"date":"2024-07-07T13:57:59","date_gmt":"2024-07-07T17:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=85017"},"modified":"2024-07-08T07:54:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T11:54:42","slug":"cavs-johnnie-bryant-hire-layered-front-office-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/07\/cavs-johnnie-bryant-hire-layered-front-office-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavs\u2019 Coaching Hire A Layered Front Office Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Cleveland Cavaliers have hired New York Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant, per ESPN\u2019s Adrian Wojnarowski. Bryant will take the same position in Cleveland. The 38-year-old was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/26\/cavs-knicks-coach-johnnie-bryant-gaining-steam-jb-bickerstaff-replacement\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">among the candidates to interview<\/a> for their head coaching position after they parted ways with J.B. Bickerstaff.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">New York Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant has agreed on a deal to become associate head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources tell ESPN. Bryant will join Kenny Atkinson\u2019s new staff after four years with the Knicks and the previous six with the Utah Jazz. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ywyjxpMVst\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/ywyjxpMVst<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn\/status\/1809695101062427114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mitchdo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Donovan Mitchell<\/a>\u2019s mentor during their time with the Utah Jazz, his hiring is layered.<\/p>\n<h2>Cavs\u2019 Johnnie Bryant Hire A Layered Front Office Decision<\/h2>\n<p>On the surface, Bryant\u2019s relationship with Mitchell simply provides an intangible benefit, making their franchise star even more comfortable in Cleveland.<\/p>\n<p>Though Mitchell re-upped with the Cavs, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/02\/cavs-all-star-donovan-mitchell-agree-3-year-max-contract-extension\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">signing a three-year contract extension<\/a>, he can still become a free agent as early as 2027. He could even request a trade if Cleveland began to spiral. In this era, stars aren\u2019t shy about taking their destiny into their own hands. To that point, Mitchell has enjoyed his time in Northeast Ohio, but feelings are fluid.<\/p>\n<h3>A Man To Be Taken Seriously<\/h3>\n<p>However, by making Bryant the associate head coach, he becomes more than a confidant. With his title comes power and influence that reverberates through the franchise.<\/p>\n<p>Players will understand that he\u2019s not just there for Mitchell\u2019s sake. With that knowledge, he should have a stronger voice in the locker room. Peers may grow to respect him as a tactician and strategist. At this point, he\u2019s been labeled as a communicator and developer. Yet, as a former college point guard who has coached under Quin Snyder and Tom Thibodeau, his work with the clipboard should be first-rate.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most importantly, Cavs executives will have him under the microscope.<\/p>\n<p>This is both to make sure he can handle the promotion and to determine if he\u2019ll get another one. That isn\u2019t to say that he\u2019s there to take Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson\u2019s job. Nonetheless, if Cleveland determines that Atkinson can\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/07\/02\/cavs-introduce-new-head-coach\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">take them to the promised land<\/a>, they may give Bryant an opportunity.<\/p>\n<h3>The Damian Lillard Factor<\/h3>\n<p>Bryant\u2019s bond with Milwaukee Bucks guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a> may also be significant.<\/p>\n<p>For now, the Cavs are wed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/garlada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darius Garland<\/a>. Their starting point guard since 2019-20, Garland\u2019s ascension may have been slowed by Mitchell. Due to the financial focus of Klutch Sports clients, this could lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/16\/nba-rumors-cavs-star-to-seek-trade-if-teammate-stays\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">his agency desiring a trade<\/a>. After all, if Garland plateaus, his value will either stagnate or decline. With that being said, if Garland has hit his ceiling, Cleveland may want to divorce him anyways.<\/p>\n<p>If so, Lillard becomes an intriguing option.<\/p>\n<p>Lillard\u2019s first season with the Bucks didn\u2019t go smoothly, which can\u2019t be what a player wants late in their career. This could lead to him looking at his options for his playing future. If so, the Cavs could be an attractive destination.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ll have one of the top guards in the game. They\u2019ll have one of the top big man duos in the league. Lillard will also have a positive and longstanding relationship with the associate head coach.<\/p>\n<p>The Cavs may not want to move Garland. However, it\u2019s hard to turn down a player with seven career seasons scoring at least 25 points per game. If Garland can\u2019t shift gears, becoming a more formidable scorer, it\u2019ll leave Cleveland with a choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cleveland Cavaliers have hired New York Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant, per ESPN\u2019s Adrian Wojnarowski. Bryant will take the same position in Cleveland. The 38-year-old was among the candidates to interview for their head coaching position after they parted ways with J.B. Bickerstaff. New York Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant has agreed on a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":85087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1608,15,62,12,3],"tags":[187,1937,900,49168,4557],"class_list":["post-85017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cavaliers","category-basketball","category-bucks","category-nba","category-knicks","category-news","tag-damian-lillard","tag-darius-garland","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-johnnie-bryant","tag-nba-offseason"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}