Cavaliers to interview Eastern Conference rival assistants for head coach gig

The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Donovan Mitchell ahead of the 2022-23 campaign with the intention of competing for an NBA Championship. Two seasons into Mitchell's Cavaliers tenure, that simply hasn't happened.

The Cavs were able to win a playoff series this season but were clearly outmatched in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics. With Cleveland falling well short of their ultimate goal for a second consecutive season, someone was going to take the fall. That someone turned out to be head coach JB Bickerstaff who was fired after spending parts of the last five seasons in charge.

With Bickerstaff officially out, Cleveland's head coaching search is underway. While a report has already circulated suggesting former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is the favorite, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Cleveland is set to interview a pair of Eastern Conference rival assistants.

Cavaliers interview pair of Eastern Conference assistants for head coaching vacancy

Wojnarowski says that Cleveland has requested permission to interview Johnnie Bryant of the New York Knicks and Chris Quinn of the Miami Heat.

Bryant has been the Knicks Associate Coach under Tom Thibodeau and has had a ton of success in that role, helping the Knicks make the playoffs three times since including Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals this season.

Quinn is more of an intriguing coaching candidate for the Cavs specifically. Not only has he been an assistant on Erik Spoelstra's staff for ten seasons now, but the final year of his playing career was in a Cavaliers uniform. Quinn has been on the coaching staff for two NBA Finals teams while also playing for the Cavs organization.

Neither Bryant nor Quinn has been an NBA head coach in their careers, but they've both had tremendous success under two of the best head coaches in the league today. They'd both be strong hires if the Cavs went in their direction.