Cavaliers Hiring Former Trail Blazers Assistant to Coach G League Affiliate

After losing Chris Darnell to the Sacramento Kings, the Cavaliers have found the next head coach for the Charge, their NBA G League affiliate.

Feb 2, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson calls out to his team during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

With how top-heavy the Cleveland Cavaliers are financially, the Cleveland Charge, the NBA G League affiliate of the Cavaliers, has become a lifeline. For the past several seasons, the Cavaliers have leaned on the Charge to develop rotational talent like Dean Wade and Sam Merrill, who are both staples in Kenny Atkinson's rotation.

However, with the Charge losing head coach Chris Darnell to the Sacramento Kings, the Cavaliers were on the prowl to find a successor to keep their player development pipeline with the Charge open.

Well, according to HoopsHype's NBA insider Michael Scotto, Cleveland has zeroed in on former Portland Trail Blazers video coordinator Eli Kell-Abrams as the next head coach of the Charge. Before joining Cleveland, Kell-Abrams was going to begin his NBA G League career as the lead assistant coach under Jonah Herscu and the Portland Remix, the NBA G League affiliate of the Trail Blazers.

What's new Charge head coach Eli Kell-Abrams' coaching resume?

Feb 20, 2022; Cleveland, OH, USA; G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson (0) drives to the basket against Cleveland Charge center Tacko Fall (99) during the second half of the NBA G League Next Gem Game at the Wolstein Center. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Kell-Abrams, who worked as head video coordinator with the Philadelphia 76ers for two seasons, and assistant video coordinator and video intern with the Miami Heat before his time in Portland, will be the fourteenth head coach in Charge franchise history. He also spent time as an assistant coach at Saint Thomas Aquinas College from 2017-18 and as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Miami for two seasons from 2015-17.

Despite his time working as an assistant coach and video coordinator, this will be Kell-Abrams’ first head coaching role. However, after spending so much time behind the scenes studying tape and breaking down players, Kell-Abrams could be the ideal candidate to help the Cavaliers further develop rotational depth and cement permanent depth at point guard behind Darius Garland.

Heading into this season, Cavaliers rookie guard Tyrese Proctor will likely see his fair share of time with the Charge. With Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Lonzo Ball, Sam Merrill, and others ahead of him, playing time will be few and far between for Proctor to start his NBA career.

So, if the Cavaliers want to properly develop Proctor into a rotational piece, he'll likely spend time under Kell-Abrams and the Charge. Proctor, like two-way wings Luke Travers and Nae'Qwan Tomlin, will grind away in the G League and hopefully, with Kell-Abrams' guidance and understanding of player development and analytics, will become rotational pieces for the Cavaliers in no time.