Tag: Cleveland Cavaliers

Most recent Notre Dame players to be NBA draft selections

All of these players did the Irish proud before making the jump.

Nobody on Notre Dame’s veteran-laden team from this past season will be selected in Thursday’s NBA draft. In fact, given the inexperience across the board on the upcoming season’s roster and under a new coach no less, it could be quite a while before we see another Notre Dame player drafted. On the bright side, that means no early departures except via the transfer portal. Then again, it sure would be nice to have NBA-ready talent in South Bend.

The only way to deal with a challenging present and short-term future is to look to the past. In this case, the way to go about that is to look at former players who heard their names called on draft night over the past several years. Of the 62 former Notre Dame players who have suited up in the NBA or ABA, 41 have entered professional basketball via the draft. Here are the most recent ones:

Report: Nets could be one team interested in trading for Darius Garland

Per Evan Dammarell of Right Down Euclid, the Brooklyn Nets could be one of the teams interested in trading for Darius Garland.

The Brooklyn Nets are one of the teams in the NBA that has to think about every way possible for them to improve enough to make it back to the playoffs. While Brooklyn is currently limited to adding players outside of the 2024 NBA Draft, there is a possible trade target for them depending on certain events.

Per Evan Dammarell of Right Down Euclid, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland could be available for a trade this summer assuming that he would prefer to play elsewhere if Donovan Mitchell ends up re-signing with the Cavaliers. If the dominos fall as what some reports have indicated, there are a few teams that could be interested in Garland’s services, including the Nets.

“Things will probably come to a head in the coming days, and several league sources shared with Right Down Euclid that if Garland demands a move to an Eastern Conference team, the Orlando Magic, the Brooklyn Nets, the Washington Wizards, and the Toronto Raptors could all enter the conversation,” Dammarell wrote.

The interesting tidbit about this reporting is if Garland insists on being dealt to a team in the Eastern Conference, Brooklyn is one of the teams in that group that could sorely use a point guard of the future to pair with Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges. As of right now, the point guards on the Nets’ roster are Ben Simmons and Dennis Schroder, two players who will be free-agents after the 2024-25 season.

Granted, Brooklyn could be of the belief that Thomas is their lead guard of the future once Simmons and Schroder are off the books, but it appears that the Nets are more comfortable with Thomas as an off-ball guard who can focus more on scoring. If that is the case, then Brooklyn trading for Garland could set up their backcourt for the next few years.

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Former Nets HC Kenny Atkinson to be hired as HC for the Cavaliers

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is hired to be the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Brooklyn Nets are currently rebuilding to get back to the being title contenders after the breakup of the Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. One of the prominent figures of the Nets in the beginning of that era was former head coach Kenny Atkinson and he is getting another shot at being a head coach.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Monday that the Cleveland Cavaliers are hiring Atkinson to be the new head coach following Cleveland’s firing of JB Bickerstaff earlier this summer. Atkinson is the winner of a coaching search that began towards the end of May for the Cavaliers and he now will get a team that is capable of going back to the playoffs with Donovan Mitchell as the leader.

Atkinson became the head coach of the Nets heading into the 2016-17 season following seven years as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks (2008-12) and the Atlanta Hawks (2013-16). In Atkinson’s first season, the Nets finished with a 20-62, the worst record in the NBA, and even though the team was in a full rebuild at the time, they did not have access to their first-round pick for the following draft due to a trade that brought them Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from the Boston Celtics.

Atkinson then led the Nets to a 28-54 record in 2017-18 and had his best performance by guiding Brooklyn to a 42-20 record in 2018-19, leading to the franchise’s first playoff appearance under him. In June of 2019, Atkinson would get some major help as Durant announced that he would sign with the Nets with Irving signing shortly after Durant.

Atkinson did not get much from the superstar duo as Durant did not play during the 2019-20 season as he was recovering from an Achilles injury and Irving played in just 20 games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. Atkinson coached the Nets to a 28-34 record in the season before stepping down in March, something that was regarded as a mutual parting from both sides.

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Micah Shrewsberry crashes Boston Celtics’ NBA championship celebration

Now that’s a proud former assistant coach.

The Boston Celtics are the NBA champions for a record 18th time in franchise history. They accomplished the feat by knocking off the Dallas Mavericks in a five-game finals. They were the best team in the league during the season and proved it during the playoffs.

[autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] knows the Celtics’ biggest players well. He was an assistant coach under Brad Stevens when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were drafted, and he stayed on the staff for a few years after until he went back to the college rankings. They clearly remember him as evidenced by this video of Shrewsberry celebrating with Brown and his Finals MVP trophy:

During Shrewsberry’s tenure, the Celtics never got closer than the conference finals, falling to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in back-to-back seasons. Obviously, things have gotten much better for everybody since then, and Notre Dame fans definitely hope Shrewsberry will get the Irish closer to their own ultimate goal soon.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Cavs hosted UCLA star Adem Bona

The Cavs brought in Adem Bona for a workout.

UCLA Bruins big man Adem Bona is garnering a lot of eyeballs ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft. After an impressive season at UCLA and a stand-out performance at the NBA Combine, he has been flying up draft boards.

Recently, the Cleveland Cavaliers hosted a number of players for pre-draft workouts, including Adem Bona, per Adam Zagoria.

The Cavs have a lot of young talent and are a team that should contend in the Eastern Conference for years to come, no matter what happens with Donovan Mitchell this summer.

The Cavs have Evan Mobley and Isaiah Mobley, both of whom played for the USC Trojans, and now they brought in Bona as well as some others for pre-draft workouts.

Bona should have plenty of other workouts leading up to the 2024 NBA Draft at the end of June, and he should have no problem hearing his name called on draft night.

Could the Nets use Dorian Finney-Smith to get back into 2024 NBA Draft?

Dorian Finney-Smith is one of the few veterans left on the Brooklyn Nets’ roster. Could Brooklyn use him to get into the 2024 NBA Draft?

The Brooklyn Nets are one of the teams in the NBA that could use more talent on the roster and/or finding ways to add more draft picks to their arsenal. One of the players on Brooklyn’s roster could be better off with a contender and that transaction could be the franchise’s way back into the draft.

With the Nets looking to get younger and also looking for more draft picks, Dorian Finney-Smith is someone whose named has been floated around as a potential trade candidate. If Brooklyn comes around to trading Finney-Smith, almost every contending team would be interested in him, including the Cleveland Cavaliers as a potential suitor.

Finney-Smith would be an ideal fit at power forward for a number of teams due to his ability to shoot the three and play defense against some of the better frontcourt players in the league. As such, the Cavaliers, a team possibly looking for an upgrade over someone like Issac Okoro, Finney-Smith could be just the person for them to trade for.

Dan Favale of Bleacher Report recently proposed this trade as a framework of what could be possible between Cleveland and Brooklyn:

Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: Dorian Finney-Smith

Brooklyn Nets Receive: Ty Jerome, Georges Niang, No. 20

At first glance, it looks like the Nets would be getting a good package for Finney-Smith as getting the 20th overall pick would net them another young player with some promise. Jerome, a native New Yorker, would probably not play much for Brooklyn, but he is someone with some history of being able to handle the ball while providing some solid shooting.

Niang is a veteran player who brings scoring, rebounding, and toughness off the bench and is someone who can stretch the floor, a skill set pivotal for the Nets. Niang has shot 37.6% or better from three-point land in each of the past six seasons so his shot is pretty reliable.

With the 20th overall pick, the Nets would be looking at players like guard Carlton Carrington and centers like Yves Messi and DaRon Holmes II. In a mock draft by Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, he has those three players going 20th, 21st, and 22nd, respectively.

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Report: Rival NBA execs expect Donovan Mitchell to stay in Cleveland

The Rockets are reportedly monitoring Donovan Mitchell’s status in Cleveland, but HoopsHype insider Michael Scotto reports that he’s likely staying put.

Shortly after the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from the 2024 NBA playoffs in May, reports emerged that the Houston Rockets were among teams monitoring the status of Donovan Mitchell.

Cleveland’s All-Star guard can become a free agent as soon as 2025. With that in mind, if he wants to move on, the 2024 offseason would be the optimal time for the Cavaliers to trade Mitchell at peak value and avoid any scenario where he leaves for reduced compensation.

But according to HoopsHype’s NBA insider, Michael Scotto, it doesn’t look like Mitchell wants to leave the Cavaliers — who recently moved on from head coach JB Bickerstaff. Scotto writes:

Several rival executives believe Donovan Mitchell will sign an extension with Cleveland. The belief is Mitchell, who just completed his seventh season, will sign a max extension for at least the next three seasons, which would put him at 10 years of service and eligible for more money on his next contract due to CBA rules.

If Mitchell is indeed unavailable, it isn’t clear if Houston has any replacement targets in mind. The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reports that names such as Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges and New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram, who could be available, are less appealing to the Rockets.

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Report: Cavs granted permission to interview Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson

The Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly been granted permission to interview the Golden State Warriors’ assistant coach.

Since the regular season came to an end, Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson has been linked to multiple head coaching openings around the association.

After parting ways with J.B. Bickerstaff, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been in the market for a new head coach on the sideline. Early reports regarding the opening have highlighted Atkinson as a potential candidate.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Cavaliers have been granted permission to interview Atkinson. Cleveland will also interview New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego along with several more candidates, per Wojnarowski.

Via @wojespn on X:

https://x.com/wojespn/status/1795973261576094157

Atkinson has head coaching experience. He served as the Brooklyn Nets head coach for four seasons from 2016-2020.

Atkinson joined Steve Kerr’s staff with Golden State in 2022 before the Warriors began a championship campaign that culminated in the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. Atkinson has also served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers.

Since joining Kerr’s staff, Atkinson has been linked to many job openings in past years across the league, including the Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

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Should the San Antonio Spurs try to trade for Darius Garland?

Could the San Antonio Spurs potentially make a trade for Darius Garland this offseason?

The San Antonio Spurs have a chance to completely reshape their future this summer. Victor Wembanyama already looks like one of the best players in the NBA. He was the unanimous Rookie of the Year this season and also finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. But now, it’s up to the Spurs to put a great team around him.

The trade market will provide them with an essential opportunity to improve the roster, and targeting playmaking should be a top priority. One guy who they could potentially take a look at is Cleveland Cavaliers star Darius Garland. Ever since the Cavs’ playoff exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics, there has been a ton of smoke around Cleveland and the moves they could make this summer.

The SSPN YouTube channel recently spoke about the idea of the Spurs trading for Garland.

Adding Garland’s offensive talent would help take the Spurs to the next level.

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Notre Dame All-American Hannah Hidalgo has photo with Donovan Mitchell

Hannah’s in the big time now.

Some might have figured [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] would impress in her freshman season at Notre Dame. Few could have predicted just how impressive she would be though. She led everybody in steals (4.6 a game), was sixth nationally in scoring (22.6 points a game) and was named First Team All-American among many other honors. Not a bad start, right?

One fellow basketball player who appears to have taken notice is five-time NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two guards recently encountered one another, and they took a photo that Hidalgo has posted to social media. While we don’t know the story behind it, it’s impressive to see nonetheless:

Hopefully, this is the first of many encounters Hidalgo will have with basketball greats during her time with the Irish. Now that Caitlin Clark has turned professional, those who love women’s college basketball can turn their attention to other players deserving of it. Hidalgo definitely is one of those players, and the sooner those who don’t already realize that change their tune, the better.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89