The Cavaliers been granted permission to interview Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori for their head coaching vacancy, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
An Ohio native, Nori also interviewed for the Lakers’ head coaching job, Wojnarowski notes. The veteran assistant coach was first linked to Cleveland by Wojnarowski’s ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst.
Nori, 50, spent several years as a scout with Toronto before becoming an assistant coach with the Raptors in 2009. He was also an assistant with Sacramento, Denver and Detroit before joining Minnesota in 2021.
Known for his humor, wit and intelligence, Nori patrolled the sidelines for the Wolves and made many in-game decisions this postseason after head coach Chris Finch sustained a major knee injury in the team’s first-round victory over Phoenix. Nori has drawn high praise from stars like Anthony Edwards and Nikola Jokic.
As our tracker shows, Nori is at least the fifth candidate to interview for the Cavs’ lead coaching job, joining Kenny Atkinson (Golden State), James Borrego (New Orleans), Johnny Bryant (New York) and Chris Quinn (Miami). Of the five, only Atkinson and Borrego have previous NBA head coaching experience (with Brooklyn and Charlotte, respectively).
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported last week that the Cavaliers could meet with up to 10 candidates. Multiple reports have indicated that Atkinson is viewed as the frontrunner for the job after J.B. Bickerstaff was dismissed last month. Cleveland advanced to the second round of the playoffs in 2023/24, ultimately losing to Boston in five games.