Kenny Atkinson didn’t need much time to process LeBron James choosing Philadelphia over Cleveland.
By the coach’s own account, it was a brief gut punch, then back to work.
At Cavs media day on Monday, and again during last week’s season-opening press conference with Koby Altman and Atkinson, the LeBron storyline hung over everything. The Cavaliers were in the mix, and they were reportedly the only team James met with in person. For a fan base that had already imagined a return to the place where his career began, the news landed hard.
Atkinson described the reaction in plain terms when Fox 8 News Sports Anchor John Sabol asked him how he handled the announcement.
"What do you expect?" Atkinson responded to Sabol when the question was asked.
"Like everybody in Cleveland, it was just like, man, I mean, obviously one of the best players of all time. Then it was being through this free agency thing before, where you're waiting for a guy, and you don't get him."
He also said the front office moved quickly once the disappointment set in.
"I would just give a ton of credit to Koby and the front office, how they were like, okay, it's time to go to plan B. There was probably a day of woe is me, you're hurt, which is natural, but then the next day it was just like, how are we pivoting, what moves are we going to make, and I think we made some great moves to, you know, soften the blow."
That pivot came fast. Two days after James’ decision became official on July 24th, 2026, the Cavaliers signed Mario Hezjona to a one-year, $2.85 million deal, getting him back to the NBA after six years overseas.
Cleveland also added Peyton Watson in a sign-and-trade with the Denver Nuggets and brought back James Harden on a two-year contract. The message was clear: if LeBron wasn’t coming, the Cavs were going to keep moving.
Now the attention shifts to the season itself, and the schedule has already set the stage. Cleveland opens its 2026-27 campaign in Philadelphia against James and the 76ers, with old friend Dean Wade also in the picture after telling Philadelphia media he joined the team to win a championship.
The connection between the Cavaliers and the 76ers is going to linger. For now, Cleveland has already moved on to the next chapter.
In Other News...
Kenny Atkinson Is Challenging The Cavs In One Crucial Way
The Cavaliers have taken their preseason work overseas, using training camp in Malaga, Spain, as more than just a chance to get shots up and legs under them. Kenny Atkinson has framed the trip as a test of adaptation, with the staff leaning into team bonding, scrimmaging, conditioning and mental drills as Cleveland tries to build a sharper foundation before the season begins. Peyton Watson and the rest of the group are getting a very different kind of camp than the usual routine back home.
What makes the setup notable is the emphasis on the part of the game that can be easy to overlook in October: how a team responds when the environment changes and the work gets uncomfortable. Atkinson has made mental performance a priority in Malaga, and the Cavaliers are trying to turn that into camaraderie and resilience as they prepare for what comes next. The real question is how much of that edge carries over once the trip ends and the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
James Harden Just Added An Unexpected Twist To Clevelands Future
During the Cavaliers training camp in Spain, James Harden gave a glimpse of how he sees the later stages of his career, saying he has interest in eventually playing basketball in Europe or Spain. It was an interesting note to surface while Cleveland was working overseas, especially coming from a player who only recently committed to the team on a three-year contract and appears locked in on the present.
For now, the message is less about departure than possibility. Harden did not offer a timeline or suggest anything is imminent, but the idea of a future overseas stint adds a different layer to his Cleveland tenure and gives the Cavs something else to think about as they move through camp abroad. [Read more 🡒]
Donovan Mitchell Just Added Real Heat To Cavaliers Opening Night
Donovan Mitchell has become the face of Clevelands next chapter, and now he has already put a sharper edge on opening night. After LeBron James chose to sign a two-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers instead of returning to Cleveland, Mitchell referred to him as the enemy, a comment that instantly gave the Cavaliers season opener a little extra bite.
Mitchell was brought in before the 2022-23 season and has since locked in his long-term future with a four-year, $273 million extension, so this is very much his team now. Cleveland will open the season with Mitchell in the lineup against James 76ers, a matchup that already carries the kind of storyline the NBA likes to package and fans in Cleveland will not need much convincing to circle on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]