Luke Walton joins J.B. Bickerstaff in Detroit

Additional changes are made to the front of the bench.

Kenny Atkinson has been busy putting together his staff for the Cleveland Cavaliers. So far, this includes new hires Jordon Ott, DeMarre Carrol, Trevor Hendry, and Johnnie Bryant. The new staff will not feature former assistants Greg Buckner and Dan Geriot who are moving on to the Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans. Now Luke Walton has been added to the list of departing assistants.

Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported that Walton will be joining former Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff who recently replaced Monty Williams as head coach of the Detroit Pistons. Walton will be the lead assistant for Bickerstaff in Detroit.

Walton spent two years in Cleveland as an assistant. He was brought onto the staff in May 2022 with the idea of helping the offense. That happened, mostly because of Donovan Mitchell who was acquired that same summer, as the Cavs finished the season seventh in offensive rating before stalling out in the playoffs. The offense wasn’t able to get to those heights again this past season before struggling again in the postseason.

Walton was hired by Cleveland after three seasons as head coach of the Sacramento Kings and three seasons leading the Los Angeles Lakers. He served as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors from 2014-2016. He had an 11-year playing career which included his final two seasons coming in Cleveland.

The biggest changes for the Cavs this offseason have come on the bench. We’ll see if any more changes are made as the Cavaliers progress through Las Vegas Summer League.