Cleveland Cavaliers Rumors: Is It Time For A Coaching Change?

Three journalists from The Athletic published an article about what could be next for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shams Charania, Joe Varden, and Jason Lloyd reported that J.B. Bickerstaff’s job could be in “serious jeopardy.”

Their report cited that the Cavs’ decision will not be immediate. They will take a few days to figure things out and see what would be the best move for their franchise going forward. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on the X platform that the organization remains fond of Bickerstaff and that the “marketplace is sparse of proven candidates.”

J.B. Bickerstaff’s Time In Cleveland So Far

In his five seasons coaching Cleveland, Bickerstaff has a 170-159 record. He also has a 6-11 playoff record in the past two playoff runs. His coaching career spans 20 years. He was an assistant coach for Charlotte, Memphis, and Houston and an associate head coach for Memphis.

J.B. Bickerstaff was an associate head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2019-2020 season before eventually becoming the head coach the same season. Before becoming the Cavs head coach, he was the head coach for the Houston Rockets in one season, with a 37-34 record season and a combined 48-97 record with the Memphis Grizzlies.

What Else Does The Cavaliers Need To Work On?

Aside from the head coaching rumors, there are rising questions about Donovan Mitchell’s future with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Things began to get weird during their regular season finale against the Charlotte Hornets, where they sat their entire guard rotation and “sort-of” lost the game on purpose to secure the 4 seed rather than to get the 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

It’s assumed that the Cavaliers will pursue a contract extension for Donovan Mitchell, but he has refused to publically speak on the extension. They brought in Mitchell to bring an All-Star veteran presence to a young and lively team that has Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen as their respective offensive and defensive leaders.

There were sparks that the experiment had finally clicked when the Cavaliers jumped from a play-in spot to the 2 seed in the second half of the season. Yet, their chemistry started to fizzle out, and at times, they seemed uninspired to win their games.

Injuries also impacted their season. Garland, Mobley, and Mitchell missed a combined 84 games this season. They only had six players play over 65 games this year. Maybe sports journalists and analysts are overreacting to how the experiment went and didn’t account for the team’s health to their success. Could they run this same coaching and team tandem next season? Never say never.