Eliminated from the playoffs following their loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Cleveland Cavaliers are preparing to clean house. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavs “plan to take time to evaluate (head) coach JB Bickerstaff’s future,” though they’re “fond of him and (the) marketplace is sparse of proven candidates.”
ESPN Sources: After an Eastern Conference semifinal loss to Celtics with short-handed lineup, Cavaliers plan to take time to evaluate coach JB Bickerstaff’s future, but organization remains fond of him and marketplace is sparse of proven candidates. There will be a lot of…
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 16, 2024
Bickerstaff, 45, has coached Cleveland since the tail end of the 2019-20 season.
Taking over for former Michigan head coach John Beilein, who is now the Detroit Pistons’ senior player development advisor, Bickerstaff has went 176-170 as head coach. Notably, while winning 47.7 games per season over the last three years, he’s just 6-11 in the playoffs.
JB Bickerstaff Hits Hot Seat After Playoff Elimination
Though Wojnarowski paints a rosy picture of the relationship between Bickerstaff and the Cavs’ organization, that may not be completely true.
Bickerstaff’s a respectful and even-keeled motivator and allows his guys to play to their strengths. His father Bernie, a former NBA head coach, is Cleveland’s senior basketball advisor. However, for the past two seasons, Bickerstaff has been rumored to be on the hot seat. Just last week, The Athletic’s Joe Vardon reported that Cleveland considered parting ways with him early in the 2023-24 season.
That said, though Bickerstaff has likely been coaching for his job all season, this isn’t what brings his relationship with the Cavs into question. It’s how he was publicly berated by Cavs president Koby Altman after a mid-December win over the Houston Rockets. In that game, All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell played over 45 minutes (with a usage rate of 29.6 percent).
“After the game, (Altman) walked into the coach’s office and admonished (Bickerstaff) in front of his entire staff for playing Mitchell such heavy minutes,” per Vardon (and Shams Charania) write in a separate piece for The Athletic. “Descriptions of the incident spread across the organization, including the locker room,” they add.
Koby Altman’s Future in Jeopardy, Too?
Curiously, Altman “was unaware at the time… that the coach had asked Mitchell if he wanted to come out… and Mitchell declined.” For a typically calm, measured, and peaceful executive, Altman’s behavior seems slightly out of character. That his temper boiled over to the point where he didn’t do his homework on the situation before ”scolding” Bickerstaff speaks to both a head coach wearing on his nerves and anxiety about his own future.
Vardon and Charania note that Altman’s behavior was partly due to Cleveland’s desire to sign Mitchell to a contract extension. As of now, that doesn’t seem particularly likely. Unfortunately for Altman, he gave up a lot for Mitchell, including five first-round picks. That’s a bit too much for a three season rental that didn’t result in much playoff success. There are several other personnel moves that have questioned, including the decision to trade Kyrie Irving; to fire former head coach Ty Lue; and to draft Isaac Okoro fifth overall. Each of those moves altered Cleveland’s destiny and not for the better.
Furthermore, last offseason, Altman was arrested for driving while impaired and nearly causing an accident. That incident alone isn’t enough to make him lose his job, though it tainted his pristine public image. However, if he’s not performing at level of expectations at work and managed to give the organization a black eye while off the clock, his future with the organization may not be secure either.
Though signed through the 2027-28 season, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert could always choose to move on before then.
The Writing’s on the Wall
But back to Bickerstaff, whom “Mitchell did not have great confidence in…”
“Several players questioned Bickerstaff’s strategies, game management, practice habits and accountability measures, privately and publicly, throughout the season.” This is a fireable offense in and of itself, as there has to be trust between a coach and players. Indeed, that distrust was a key factor in the firings of Darvin Ham and Frank Vogel.
While he plans to keep showing up until the Cavs tell him not to, the writing may already be on the wall.
