5. Alex Jensen
The resume seems to fit. Alex Jensen’s familiarity with the Cavaliers is stronger than most of the coaches being interviewed, with previous experience in the organization. Jensen stalked the sidelines of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, from 2011-13, earning Coach of the Year honors in 2013.
His history in developing talent in the big leagues is also impressive. As an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz, he’s been behind the emergence of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Anytime a player drafted outside of the top 10 becomes a borderline All-Star, you note the coaches. The Jazz have two such talents.
He’s also shared the sidelines with maybe the most underrated head coach in the NBA, Quin Snyder. Snyder extracts every ounce of defensive ability from his roster. He and his staff game plan masterfully, suffocating average scorers on the perimeter while forcing the elite ones into the outstretched arms of Gobert. They helped resurrect Ricky Rubio‘s career and procured surprising production from Joe Ingles.
Who is Alex Jensen? The longtime Jazz assistant and Grizzlies head coach candidate helped develop Rudy Gobert into one of the best bigs in the NBA. https://t.co/9qhhWGhNlF
— Offseason O (@omarisankofa) May 1, 2019
Gregg Popovich’s prodigies always attract attention in the offseason, as we’ll see later. Mizzou’s wonder boy and his staff deserve the same treatment. Jensen is already drawing attention. Cleveland would be smart to take a long, hard look.