Cavs expected to retain assistant coach Johnnie Bryant

The Cavs are looking to fill their vacant spots on the bench with some former players.

After being a finalist for the Phoenix Suns head coaching position, Johnnie Bryant is expected to remain with the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Bryant lost out to former Cavs assistant Jordan Ott, who has officially been announced as the new head honcho in Phoenix.

Bryant’s name has cropped up in coaching hiring cycles over the past few years and was mentioned as a possibility for the New York Knicks after they fired Tom Thibodeau. Bryant spent four seasons on Thibodeau’s bench as an assistant and was pegged as an obvious replacement. The Knicks are reportedly moving in a different direction, eyeing former Cavs head coach Mike Brown and former Memphis Grizzlies leading man Taylor Jenkins.

By bringing Bryant back, the Cavs retain one of the brightest assistant coaches in the league and a key voice in the locker room. Bryant spent seven seasons in Utah, many of those with Donovan Mitchell, before heading to the Knicks in 2020.

Even with Bryant back on board, the Cavs still have some holes to fill on the coaching side of things. DeMarre Carroll is also heading to Phoenix to be on Ott’s staff, and assistant Brian Tibaldi is leaving to be an assistant for the NCAA’s Providence Friars. Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson is reportedly looking to fill those openings with some former players, per Scotto: Jared Dudley and Jawad Williams.

Dudley is currently an assistant on Jason Kidd’s staff with the Dallas Mavericks and played under Atkinson with the Brooklyn Nets, which means he was also Jarrett Allen’s teammate. The Cavs will have some competition for Dudley, who is reportedly also on the radar of the Suns’ and Grizzlies’ coaching staffs.

Williams is an assistant coach and Director of Player Development with the Sacramento Kings, and also played for the Cavs from 2008-2011.