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Tristan Thompson

Cavaliers Bring Back Tristan Thompson

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The Cavaliers have re-signed veteran Tristan Thompson on a one-year deal.

Thompson appeared in 49 games for the Cavs this past season, averaging 3.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per contest.

In his role off the bench, Thompson appeared to be playing with a spring in his step, flashing shades of the vintage Double T who helped the Cavaliers win their first NBA title in 2016.

That came to a screeching halt when the NBA suspended Thompson for 25 games after testing positive for banned substances. Thompson served his suspension from mid-January to March.

Cleveland selected the University of Texas alum with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. At the time, he was the highest drafted Canadian-born player in league history.

Thompson ranks among the franchise’s all-time leaders in offensive rebounds (second, 2,188), total rebounds (third, 5,567), defensive rebounds (fifth, 3,379), blocks (fifth, 461), games played (fifth, 668) and minutes (eighth, 17,922). His 447 consecutive regular-season games played from Feb. 10, 2012, to April 4, 2017, remains the longest streak in Cavaliers history.

Over the course of his 13-year career, Thompson has played in 779 regular-season games (478 starts) for Cleveland, Boston, Sacramento, Indiana and Chicago, with averages of 8.7 points on .521 shooting from the field and 8.1 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per contest.

Thompson, who started all 21 postseason games during the Cavaliers’ 2016 NBA title run, has played in 104 playoff games (70 starts) over his career, averaging 6.5 points on .557 shooting from the field and 7.2 rebounds in 25.2 minutes.

Thompson also is the Cavaliers’ all-time postseason leader in offensive rebounds (297) and ranks second in franchise playoff history in total rebounds (686), third in defensive rebounds (389), second in games played (88), fourth in blocked shots (68), ninth in points scored (613) and ninth in field goals made (231).

Isaac Okoro

Report: Cavaliers lock in defensive anchor Isaac Okoro for 3 years

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The Cavaliers and fifth-year wing Isaac Okoro agreed to a three-year, $38 million contract, ESPN reported Saturday afternoon.

Okoro, the subject of some trade chatter this summer, was the last restricted free agent on the market, and his signing “caps a busy and productive summer for the Cavaliers,” ESPN.com’s Tim Bontemps wrote.

Okoro is a likable, hard-working player who is considered one of the team’s top defenders. The athletic 6-foot-5 wing often draws the toughest defensive assignments. The Cavaliers selected the Atlanta native with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

While Okoro’s spot 3-point shooting has been the subject of much scrutiny, it’s worth noting that his 3-point percentage has improved in each of his four seasons in the NBA. During the 2023-2024 season, Okoro made 39.1% of his 3-point shots – a career high – and averaged 9.4 points a game, starting in 42 of the 69 games he played.

Okoro averaged 27.3 minutes of game action last season. While the Auburn alum started in every game that he played during his rookie campaign, Okoro’s role has evolved into a key bench player who can slot in as a spot starter when necessary. If he can continue to improve his 3-point shooting, Okoro could blossom into an upper-tier 3-and-D player with decent trade value if the Cavs ever decide to entertain offers.

Kenny Atkinson

Cavs finalize Kenny Atkinson’s coaching staff for 2024-2025 season

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With the ouster of J.B. Bickerstaff, the Cavaliers’ coaching staff will have a new look this season, although there are a few familiar faces in the mix.

Earlier this month, Atkinson and Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced that the Cavs have finalized their coaching staff for the 2024-2025 season.

Johnnie Bryant replaces Greg Buckner as associate head coach. Bryant, who played college basketball at the University of Utah, spent the last four seasons with the New York Knicks as associate head coach.

Atkinson’s assistant coaches are:

  • Jordan Ott
  • Mike Gerrity
  • DeMarre Carroll
  • Trevor Hendry
  • Omar Cook
  • Bryan Tibaldi
  • Nate Reinking

To support the coaching staff, the Cavaliers have hired Alex Sarama as director of player development and Patrick Licursi as advance scout.

Other support personnel are:

  • DJ Ham – Player development/video assistant
  • Andrew Olson – Shooting coach
  • Austin Peterson as manager of coaching analytics
  • Aaron Robinson – Video assistant
  • Luke Webb – Video assistant
  • Adrian Culea – Special assistant to the head coach

Coaches’ Bios

Johnnie Bryant

Johnnie Bryant brings over a decade of NBA experience to Atkinson’s staff, including the previous four seasons as associate head coach of the New York Knicks.

Before joining New York, Bryant spent eight seasons with the Utah Jazz, serving as an assistant coach for six seasons (2014-2020) and two seasons as a player development assistant (2012-2014). Additionally, he ran the Bryant Sports Academy for three years (2009-2012), which helped develop the skills of NBA players along with numerous European players.

Bryant played left the University of Utah as the 20th all-time leading scorer (1,301 points) and the leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.440) while also earning dual bachelor’s degrees in human development and family studies and sports management. Following his college career, the Oakland, California, native went on to play professionally overseas in Germany.

Jordan Ott

Ott was most recently an assistant coach for the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers (2022-2024).

Prior to his tenure with the Lakers, Ott served as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets for six seasons (2016-2022), where he worked under Atkinson on the sidelines for his first four years in Brooklyn. Before working as an NBA assistant coach, Ott was the video coordinator for the Atlanta Hawks from 2013 to 2016. He served in the same capacity with the Michigan State men’s basketball program for five seasons (2008-2013) under Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo.

Ott received his bachelor’s degree from Penn State in 2006 and earned his master’s degree from Michigan State in 2008. The McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, native also served as an assistant coach with the Dominican Republic national team in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City.

Mike Gerrity

Gerrity joins Atkinson’s staff after serving the previous two seasons (2022-2024) as head coach of the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ exclusively owned and operated NBA G League team.

In his first season at the helm, he led the Charge to a 30-20 record, tying for the second-most regular season wins in team history, as well as securing the franchise’s first playoff win since the 2015-2016 season. Gerrity also served as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers in 2021-2022 and spent three seasons as the team’s Director of Player Development/Assistant Coach from 2018 to 2021.

His additional roles with the organization include two seasons as director of player development for the Charge and player development assistant with the Cavaliers from 2016 to 2018, and an assistant video coordinator in 2013.

Before his coaching career, Gerrity played two seasons in the NBA G League for the Dakota Wizards, Erie BayHawks, and Maine Red Claws. He starred at the University of Southern California in 2009-2010 after playing collegiate basketball at Pepperdine and UNC Charlotte.

DeMarre Carroll

Carroll comes to Cleveland after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Lakers (2023-24) and Milwaukee Bucks (2022-23).

Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Carroll played in the NBA for 11 seasons, including two seasons under Atkinson during their time with the Brooklyn Nets. Over his NBA playing career, Carroll appeared in a combined 578 games (339 starts) for Houston, San Antonio, Brooklyn, Toronto, Atlanta, Utah, Denver and Memphis with averages of 8.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 23.7 minutes.

He made at least 100 three-pointers in four of his NBA seasons and was a starter on Atlanta’s 60-win team in 2014-2015.

Drafted by the Grizzlies as the 27th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Carroll also appeared in 64 career playoff games (52 starts), posting averages of 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 27.4 minutes. He was an All-Big 12 First Team selection during his collegiate years at the University of Missouri.

Trevor Hendry

Hendry arrives in Cleveland after spending the previous two seasons (2022-2024) as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets and the four seasons prior to that (2018-2022) as Brooklyn’s head video coordinator.

Hendry originally joined the Nets organization in 2014, serving in a variety of basketball operations roles prior to entering the video room. He then spent one season (2016-2017) as video and player development assistant for the Long Island Nets in the NBA G League and one season in the same role for the Brooklyn Nets (2017-2018) before becoming head video coordinator for Brooklyn where he worked under Atkinson for parts of four seasons. Prior to joining the Nets organization, the Waterford, Connecticut, native earned both a Bachelor of Arts in business and a Master of Business Administration from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Omar Cook

Cook held the role as assistant coach/player development with the Cavaliers last season.

He originally joined the organization in 2022-2023 as an assistant coach with the Charge after a successful 22-year professional basketball career that included stints in the NBA and NBA G League, as well as playing professionally in over half a dozen countries internationally. Cook has led five different leagues in assists in a season and has been part of two FIBA Champions League winning teams (2020, 2021).

The Brooklyn, New York, native was a McDonalds All-American and First-Team Parade All-American at Christ the King High School and starred at St. John’s University before being drafted by the Orlando Magic as the 31st overall pick in 2001.

Bryan Tibaldi

Tibaldi was most recently the player development/video assistant (2021-2024) for the Cavaliers after joining the organization as an assistant coach with the Charge during the 2019-20 campaign.

Prior to that, he spent two seasons as an assistant at Cleveland State University, two seasons as the director of basketball operations at DePaul (2015-2017), four years as a video coordinator and director of operations at Missouri (2011-2015) and two seasons as assistant video coordinator basketball operations assistant with the Chicago Bulls (2009-2011). A 2007 graduate of Michigan State, Tibaldi was a two-year letter winner as a walk-on for the Spartans.

Following his playing days, Tibaldi was a graduate assistant under Tom Izzo from 2007-2009, earning his master’s in Kinesiology in 2009.

Nate Reinking

Reinking enters his second season as assistant coach with the Cavaliers.

Previously, he was assistant coach/G-League Liaison from 2021-2023 and head coach for the Charge from 2016-2021 when he held a combined 107-101 record over that span.

Reinking has more than 20 years of collegiate, professional and international experience as both a player and coach.

He was named the head coach of the Great Britain National Team in the summer of 2019, leading the team on a 4-0 run, and continuing a record-setting seven-game winning streak, to secure a spot in a EuroBasket 2021 qualifying group. Additionally, he coached the team in the 2022 FIBA EuroBasket Games.

Before beginning his coaching career, Reinking played for Great Britain from 2005-2012, representing the nation in international tournaments such as the Olympics and European Championships. The Galion, Ohio, native graduated from Kent State University in 1996 after a four-year playing career with the Golden Flashes and was inducted into the school’s Varsity “K” Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.

Luke Travers

Cavs sign Aussie Luke Travers to 2-way contract

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The Cavaliers have signed Australian forward Luke Travers to a two-way contract, the team announced on Aug. 28.

The Cavs selected the 6-foot-7 forward with the 56th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft.

In 36 games for the National Basketball League’s Melbourne United during the 2023-2024 season, Travers averaged 12.4 points on .517% shooting from the field. Travers also averaged 7.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.33 blocks and 1.17 steals in 27 minutes of action.

Travers has appeared in 139 games (76 starts) over the last five seasons with the Perth Wildcats and Melbourne United in the National Basketball League (NBL), holding career averages of 8.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.87 steals in 20.7 minutes. He was a member of the Perth Wildcats when they won the NBL Cup in 2021 and the NBL championship in 2020.

Additionally, he was a member of the Cavaliers Summer League team for the past three years, including the 2023 NBA Summer League Championship team, where he averaged 7.5 points on .487 shooting from the field, 6.3 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.8 steals and 2.17 blocks in 23.2 minutes.

Former Melbourne United teammate Jack White recently told reporters that Travers is getting a shot in the NBA “for a reason.”

“Luke’s such a unique player,” White told reporters during an Aug. 29 press conference. “He does so many things well. So I think if he just goes out there and plays hard and brings what he does well to the table, I don’t think he’ll have any issues shining in whatever role that comes his way.”

Travers isn’t the first Australian to play for the Cavaliers. Fan favorite Matthew Dellavedova, a native of Maryborough, Australia, spent six seasons with the Cavs, last playing for Cleveland during the 2020-2021 campaign.

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