Kenny Atkinson and Micah Nori to meet with the Cleveland Cavaliers this week

James Borrego was in town Tuesday to meet the Cleveland Cavaliers in person. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori will get the same treatment. Both meetings will be held in person rather than via Zoom as was the case in previous discussions. According to Fisher, the Cavs have conducted and are still conducting Zoom interviews with candidates such as New York Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant and Milwaukee Bucks assistant Dave Joerger.

Borrego seems to have left a good impression after his interview on Tuesday. So much so that Chris Fedor of cleveland.com said that “he’s the leader in the clubhouse.” However, Cleveland may not be the only team in the running for Borrego. Fisher believes he could also be the “leading candidate” for the Los Angeles Lakers. Adrian Wojnarowski said he had already been to Los Angeles twice for interviews.

The Cavs have been methodical in how they have filled their coaching vacancy. Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman explained the importance of this research during his latest press conference.

“We would love to have a coach in place for the draft,” Altman said two and a half weeks ago. “(The timing will be) when we have made the right decision on who is the right match for this group. And if it has to drag on a little longer, that’s the case. This is such an important decision for us.

Atkinson was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020. He has since worked as an assistant with the Clippers and Los Angeles Warriors. Nori has been with Minnesota since 2021, but has spent time as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets throughout his career.