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John Beilein is out as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and J.B. Bickerstaff will take over. But is he really the right long-term fit for the Cavs gig?
On Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers made the inevitable official: John Beilein is stepping down as head coach. This news came as no surprise after reports trickled in on Sunday and throughout the week about the coach’s unhappiness, how he had lost the locker room and how he was set to have a conversation with management about making a Beilein for the exit.
As Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic reported in full detail, Beilein’s time with the Cavs was tumultuous almost day one, running players into the ground as early as NBA Summer League with lengthy practices and video breakdowns. As a college coach, he failed to make the stylistic transition to the more laid-back pros. He didn’t connect with his young players or his veterans, the losing took a toll on everyone involved and after a film session in which he called his players “thugs” (though he alleged he meant to say “slugs”), this was always going to be the end result.
Now, the Cavs will turn to assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff to run the team for the remainder of the season and beyond. That news seems like it’d make an article like this unnecessary, but let’s be real: The Cavaliers are a dysfunctional mess right now, and they’ll be turning to their seventh head coach this decade. Nothing here is stable, nor should anyone just accept that Bickerstaff is the long-term solution, even if The Athletic reported he was brought on as an eventual successor.
Bickerstaff is more experienced than anyone in the department of taking over for fired head coaches as the interim coach, having done so twice already. However, unless the third time immediately proves itself to be the charm, his resume (a career .394 win percentage over three seasons between the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies) is hardly encouraging.
For the sake of the rebuild, the pressure is on to nail this hire and actually stick with it. Given Cleveland’s head coaching carousel and how underwhelming an option Bickerstaff is as Beilein’s successor, it’s worth examining five long-term candidates to serve as the Cavaliers’ next head coach.