John Beilein

J.B. Bickerstaff Expected To Become New Cavaliers Head Coach

February 18th, 2020 at 4:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

John Beilein is not expected to be the coach of the Cavaliers for much longer. According to Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, resolution of the situation is expected to come on Wednesday.

Sources tell the publication that Beilein is expected to walk away from the remainder of his five-year contract, which is worth approximately $4-5MM per season. The final year of that deal is a team option, however.

J.B. Bickerstaff is expected to get the promotion to head coach. Bickerstaff’s father and former long-time NBA coach, Bernie Bickerstaff, is a senior advisor with the franchise.

The younger Bickerstaff is in his first season as an associate head coach in Cleveland. He led the Grizzlies for two seasons previously, taking on the head coaching role first as an interim head coach during the 2017/18 season before becoming the official leader in 2018/19.

In addition to his head coaching experience, Bickerstaff spent five seasons on Houston’s bench and served as an interim head coach briefly for the Rockets. He began his coaching career at the age of 24 as an assistant on his father’s Bobcats expansion team.

Beilein, who is 67 years old, left Michigan to be the coach of the Cavaliers last summer. Sources tell Charania and Lloyd that several factors played a part in him stepping down, including the fact that the details surrounding his son’s resignation at Niagara University have taken a toll on him.

Cavs Notes: Beilein, Drew, Drummond, Cap Room

February 18th, 2020 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

With multiple members of the Cavaliers‘ front office away on vacations over the All-Star break, the plan is for them to reconvene in Cleveland on Wednesday, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. If there’s still no resolution by that point on John Beilein‘s status for the rest of the season, that resolution will likely come shortly thereafter. The Cavs are scheduled to resume play on Friday in Washington.

As we wait to see what Beilein and the Cavs decide, let’s round up a few other items out of Cleveland…

Beilein apparently isn’t the first Cavaliers head coach to consider an in-season departure in recent years. On an episode of the Tampering podcast, Joe Vardon of The Athletic said that interim head coach Larry Drew wanted to step down at the All-Star break in 2018/19, but was talked out of it by his agent (hat tip to RealGM). That’s not a particularly shocking revelation, considering Drew said in January 2019, “I don’t know if I ever want to be a head coach again after this year.”
Speaking to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, second-year Cavs guard Collin Sexton expressed enthusiasm about teaming up with newly-acquired center Andre Drummond. “It’s amazing, just knowing that we have a big man down there who’s going to block shots, run the floor and dunk,” Sexton said. “It’s amazing, and it’ll allow us on defense to be a lot more aggressive and be into the ball because we know that we have a big guy back there who can block shots.”
Thanks to the NBA’s updated 2020/21 cap projection and a flurry of deadline trades, there will be far less league-wide cap room available this summer than initially expected, writes Danny Leroux of The Athletic. Leroux points to the Grizzlies and Cavaliers as two teams that significantly reduced their 2020 spending power as a result of in-season deals. Before acquiring Dante Exum and Drummond, Cleveland was on track to have nearly $36MM in space. Now, assuming Drummond doesn’t walk in free agency, the team projects to be over the cap.

John Beilein, Cavaliers Considering Parting Ways

February 17th, 2020 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 17, 12:55pm: Beilein is expected to speak to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert on Monday about potential options, according to The Athletic.

FEBRUARY 17, 7:20am: In a full story on the situation in Cleveland, ESPN’s Wojnarowski and Windhorst write that Beilein is expected to reach a decision within the next day or two. The Cavs’ head coach will likely speak with general manager Koby Altman about his future as soon as Monday, per the ESPN duo.

FEBRUARY 16, 10:03pm: John Beilein is not expected to remain the Cavaliers‘ head coach beyond the end of the 2019/20 season, according to a report from Shams Charania, Kelsey Russo, and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.

The Athletic’s report indicates that the terms and timing of Beilein’s departure aren’t known, but “momentum is building toward his exit.” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst suggest (via Twitter) that the Cavs and Beilein have discussed the possibility of him stepping down during the All-Star break. Though no decision has been reached, it’s possible he has coached his last game for the Cavs, Woj adds (via Twitter).

According to Charania, Russo, and Lloyd, several factors are contributing to Beilein’s tenure in Cleveland likely coming to an early end after he signed a five-year contract with the team last spring. Beilein, a longtime college coach who joined the Cavaliers after a successful run at the University of Michigan, hasn’t fully adjusted to or gotten comfortable with the NBA, people with knowledge of the situation tell The Athletic.

His son Patrick Beilein’s resignation from his head coaching job at Niagara in October has also taken a toll on the Cavs’ coach, per The Athletic. The younger Beilein stepped down for personal reasons before coaching his first game at Niagara.

On- and off-court issues for the Cavaliers have piled up during Beilein’s first year as well. The club sits dead last in the Eastern Conference with a 14-40 mark, and a report in December suggested that Beilein’s coaching style was alienating some players. About a month later, the 67-year-old head coach was at the center of a mini-controversy when he reportedly told his players they were no longer playing “like a bunch of thugs.” Beilein said he had intended to say “slugs” and apologized to the team.

On top of all that, the Cavaliers have struggled this season to balance developing their young prospects with keeping their veteran players happy. Kevin Love has publicly expressed his frustration with the situation in Cleveland multiple times this season, and both Love and Tristan Thompson reportedly wanted to be moved before the trade deadline. Both players remain on the roster.

Since it sounds like Beilein’s departure – if and when it happens – will be mutually agreed upon, the two sides may have to work out a buyout agreement of some sort — it seems unlikely that the Cavs will pay him for the next four years.

If Beilein steps down during the season, associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff would likely be first in line to assume interim coaching duties, according to The Athletic. Charania, Russo, and Lloyd say that Bickerstaff would also be a strong candidate to become Cleveland’s next permanent head coach.

Bickerstaff has previously served as the head coach of the Rockets and Grizzlies. In both instances, he was an in-season replacement for a head coach who was fired, having succeeded Kevin McHale in Houston and David Fizdale in Memphis.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Beilein, Sexton, Mykhailiuk, Antetokounmpos

February 2nd, 2020 at 11:44am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers seem distracted by the trade deadline as they rack up embarrassing losses, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The latest came last night as the Warriors broke a 10-game road losing streak with a 19-point blowout in Cleveland.

“Every loss is hitting me really hard and hitting us … I know it’s hitting me hard, I can’t answer for other people,” coach John Beilein said. “It’s just trying to find solutions and trying to find a better way to get our guys to play harder and smarter, which will lead to wins. But there’s some things that just happen because we’re young and some things happen because of persistence in our effort and some things happen because we’re just missing some pieces in the roster here and there.”

The team may have a different attitude and a different look once the deadline passes Thursday afternoon. Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight, John Henson and Matthew Dellavedova are all veterans on expiring contracts who may be sent elsewhere. Kevin Love, the team’s highest-paid player, has displayed frustration throughout the season and is also a candidate to be moved.

One question Beilein couldn’t answer last night is whether he still has the support of the players as the Cavaliers have fallen to the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 13-37.

“I think that our guys have to measure themselves,” he said. “Are they bought in to playing winning basketball? I don’t think it has anything to do with a particular coach or coaches, whatever, they’ve just got to go and play hard.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton was “shocked” to be passed over for the Rising Stars Challenge, Fedor adds in a separate story. “I knew I deserved to be there,” said Sexton, who also wasn’t invited to the game last year. “I knew the hard work every day, coming here and playing the game. I knew I deserved to be out there, but I took the good with it. Hey, just continue to build. Can’t be too mad because it is what it is.”
The Pistons are benefiting from an under-the-radar trade last February that brought in Svi Mykhailiuk from the Lakers in exchange for Reggie Bullock, notes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. “He’s on track to be one of our core pieces as far as his shooting ability, his ability to make plays off the dribble,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s right with Luke (Kennard) as far as being able to put the ball on the floor, run pick and rolls. And the kid’s a sponge – you can get on him, you can coach him, you can teach him.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo were thrilled to be in the starting lineup together on Friday, relays Eric Woodyard of ESPN. It marked the first start of Thanasis’ NBA career, and Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer made the decision because it was Greek Night in Milwaukee.

Central Notes: Sampson, Turner, Giannis, Beilein

January 12th, 2020 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers have been able to weather a series of injuries because of surprising contributions from players such as JaKarr Sampson, writes J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star. Now with his fifth NBA team, Sampson didn’t create much fanfare when he signed with Indiana in August. He’s averaging just 4.9 points per game, but his other contributions have helped make up for the loss of Thaddeus Young in free agency.

“You can’t look at a stat sheet for guys like him,” teammate Myles Turner said of Sampson. “He brings so much more to the game. Intensity. We feed off his energy.”

Sampson is suddenly getting an opportunity after missing 22 games with a back injury. He played 20 minutes Friday night after finding out 10 minutes before the game that he was starting because Domantas Sabonis had to sit out with a sore knee.

“I know I’m able to play this game at the highest level,” Sampson said. “I knew what I was walking into when I came to this team. They have two great players at the 4 and 5 (Sabonis and Turner).”

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Pacers are turning down trade requests for Turner, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN. Indiana has a lot of money invested in Turner and Sabonis, but wants to see how the team responds once Victor Oladipo returns from injury before considering a move.
The Bucks don’t seemed bothered by continued speculation about Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s future, tweets Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “I think the team’s been incredibly focused, he’s been incredibly focused just on each day, getting better, competing with his group and being respectful of what we’re doing now,” coach Mike Budenholzer said.
Cavaliers players are eager to move past the latest John Beilein controversy, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. In comments that he later apologized for, the coach caused a stir this week when he said his team was “no longer playing like a bunch of thugs” when he meant to say “slugs.” “He says it all the time, so it’s all good,” Collin Sexton said. “He calls us slugs, because we slow. But it’s good. We knew what he meant, just blown out of proportion.”

Cavaliers Plan To Retain John Beilein

January 9th, 2020 at 1:06pm CST by ChrisCrouse

1:06pm: Cleveland plans to have Beilein coach tonight’s game and stick with him going forward, Wojnarowski tweets. The coach met with Altman and gave an emotional apology to the team before today’s shootaround. Altman got a sense of how accepting the players were of the apology, Woj adds (via Twitter).

9:15am: The Cavaliers‘ season hasn’t exactly gone smoothly so far, and a comment made this week by head coach John Beilein didn’t help matters. Addressing players during a recent film session, Beilein said the team was no longer playing “like a bunch of thugs.” The coach acknowledged the misstep, claiming that he meant to say “slugs,” as in the team was playing too slow.

“I didn’t realize that I had said the word ‘thugs,’ but my staff told me later I did and so I must have said it,” Beilein told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. “I meant to say slugs, as in slow-moving. We weren’t playing hard before, and now we were playing harder. I meant it as a compliment. That’s what I was trying to say. I’ve already talked to eight of my players tonight, and they are telling me that they understand.”

Multiple players declined to comment when Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reached out for comment, though he hears that feedback this morning was that the team is “OK.” Players understand the coach’s explanation and feel comfortable moving forward. Some players weren’t even aware that Beilein made the comments initially.

In addition to players, Beilein has also spoken to GM Koby Altman on the matter. Beilein, who spent over 40 years coaching in the college ranks, signed a five-year contract to be Cleveland’s coach this offseason. A report in December suggested that his coaching style was alienating some of the Cavs’ players.

The Cavs are 10-27 on the season and many of their veterans are available on the trade market, Woj notes.

Cavs Notes: Porter, Nance, Love, Exum

January 6th, 2020 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers rookie Kevin Porter Jr. has been diagnosed with a left knee sprain and will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks, the team announced today (via Twitter). Porter’s injury occurred during the third quarter of Sunday’s home loss to Minnesota.

While Porter will be sidelined for multiple weeks, the news wasn’t as bad as it could have been for the Cavs. A source told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com before Porter underwent an MRI that the club was “bracing for some real time off.”

As Fedor notes in a separate article at Cleveland.com, the second half of the season figures to be mostly about player development for the lottery-bound Cavaliers, and Porter had emerged this season as one of the organization’s most promising young prospects. If his knee injury had been more severe, it might have cost him most or all of the rest of his rookie season. While it appears that won’t be the case, teammates like John Henson were worried when they saw Porter go down.

“It kind of hurt my heart a little bit,” Henson said. “Young guys, this is the year for them. Especially them just learning the game and he was progressing. At this stage of the season he was looking like the steal of the draft.”

Here’s more out of Cleveland:

The Cavaliers are also without big man Larry Nance Jr., having announced on Friday in a press release that he’d be on the shelf for about one or two weeks with left knee soreness.
Kevin Love won’t be disciplined by the Cavaliers for his outburst during Saturday’s game vs. Oklahoma City, tweets Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. We described that on-court incident in a Sunday story.
As a result of last month’s trade with Utah, John Beilein has the opportunity to coach Dante Exum six years after he tried to recruit the Australian guard to come to Michigan, notes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. “It was only a couple of phone calls,” Beilein said of his recruitment efforts. “I never could get the time right, you know, calling Australia. So we kept playing voicemail tag… I don’t think he was ever thinking, ‘NBA or Michigan?’ But we were one of the people that called him. I’m sure North Carolina was recruiting him, as well.” Exum ultimately opted not to play college ball, entering the 2014 NBA draft and going fifth overall.

Kevin Love: “I Love My Teammates”

January 5th, 2020 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

After a day that started with a tirade against general manager Koby Altman and culminated with in-game show of disgust that quickly went viral (video link), Kevin Love offered his side of the story last night on Instagram, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“A lot of non truths being shared,” he wrote. “But I’ve learned that we live in a world where people remember accusations and not rebuttals. Let them paint whatever picture they want. Fact is — I love my teammates.”

Those feelings weren’t on display shortly before the end of the first half of the Cavaliers‘ loss to the Thunder Saturday night. Guarded by Chris Paul in the post, Love raised both arms and called for the ball. However, coach John Beilein had instructed Collin Sexton to dribble some time off the clock before running a play. Love stomped toward Sexton and put his hands out until he got the ball, then fired a bullet pass at Cedi Osman.

It was an obvious show of frustration that might have been directed at Sexton, Beilein, Altman or the team’s losing ways in general.

“I think you’re talking about the play with Chris Paul on me,” Love told reporters after the game. “Yeah, I felt we were making a play call and at the end of the second half we were in the bonus and I had Chris Paul on me. Felt swing it to me and try to throw it in the post, see if they double-team me and get a shot out of that, but that’s not what we did. Yeah, I was frustrated.”

After Saturday morning’s shootaround, Love directed his anger at Altman in an animated discussion that began on the court and ended in the GM’s office. Love has had heated exchanges with Altman and the coaching staff before and was fined $1K for a display of emotion during a December 31 loss at Toronto.

Beilein tried to calm tensions last night, accepting responsibility for the play that ended the first half.

“That was my mistake,” he said. “I was trying to get us to slow down and try to get, not the last shot, but close to the last shot. He had Chris Paul posted up and I didn’t see it. It was on me. I called something else.”

Beilein values Love’s passion for the game and his desire to see his young teammates learn to play the right way. Sexton can be frustrating to play with because of his tendency to seek his own shot, Fedor adds, recalling that several veteran Cavaliers spoke out about him early last season.

Love’s future in Cleveland remains uncertain. His championship experience makes him valuable as a mentor, but at age 31 he doesn’t fit in with the rebuilding process. After Saturday’s incidents, everything he does will be closely watched until at least next month’s trade deadline.

Central Notes: Pistons, Young, Thompson, Garland

December 15th, 2019 at 4:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Now that 119 of this summer’s free agents have become trade-eligible, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), several playoff-bubble teams have some tough choices to make. Should they shore up their present with moves that may compromise their future (i.e. trading draft picks or still-developing younger players to improve veteran depth), or should they pivot to selling off their more attractive trade options in the hopes of accruing more forward-looking assets?

Rod Beard of The Detroit News cautions Pistons fans about hoping their squad will opt for a complete teardown with trade season in full swing. Beard asserts that owner Tom Gores wants to his team to contend for playoff appearances. The Pistons have a middling 11-15 record, good for just the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference.

In further Pistons roster talk, The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III examines Detroit’s best and worst trade options throughout their roster. He considers bench guards Derrick Rose and Langston Galloway, plus the expiring $18.1MM contract of starter Reggie Jackson, the team’s most realistic trade chips.

There’s more from the Central Division:

After reports indicated Bulls forward Thaddeus Young was unhappy with his playing time in Chicago, he logged more minutes on Wednesday against the Hawks and on Friday against the Hornets. K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago notes that Young’s increased playing time has cut into starting power forward Lauri Markkanen‘s minutes. Young played more minutes than Markkanen during Chicago’s 83-73 loss to Charlotte. Young signed a three-year, $41MM contract with the Bulls this summer to be a veteran mentor to the young team.
Cavaliers starting center Tristan Thompson downplayed a heated exchange with coach John Beilein during a 117-109 overtime win against the Spurs on Thursday. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com documents Thompson’s thoughts on the incident. “[Beilein] understands my passion for the game,” Thompson said. “I understand his passion for the game. It’s just family members getting into a quick discussion… We’ve moved on.”
The Cavaliers have found a new role for rookie guard Darius Garland in their revamped rotation: second unit leader. Though Garland still starts, he has been spending more time with the Cavs bench lately, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com details. “The coaches say I’m more aggressive with the second group,” Garland said.

Central Notes: Thompson, George, Pacers, Valentine

December 11th, 2019 at 1:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson wasn’t happy about the fact that a report surfaced last week anonymously quoting three of his teammates who were critical of John Beilein‘s head coaching style. Thompson came to Beilein’s defense over the weekend and fired back at the teammates quoted in that report, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

“Y’all better find them names ’cause I’ll pull up on ’em right now,” Thompson said. “You can’t do that s–t. At the end of the day if you’re going to build a culture and a family, you can’t have that Chatty Patty s–t going on. That s–t is whack to me.

“Everyone’s got to look in the mirror, there’s only so much coach can do and there’s only so much we can do,” Thompson continued. “Do we have the best roster in the NBA? No. But we’re going to go out there and compete every night. Guys got to look in the mirror. So I hope whoever reported that was just bulls——g and blamed it on a player.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

After getting a rough reception from Pacers fans on Sunday, Paul George said he’s not the one those fans should be booing. What exactly did he mean? “The belief in Indiana is that he’s referring to Larry Bird,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said this week on an episode of The Jump (video link). Bird, now an advisor in Indiana, was formerly the team’s president of basketball operations and pushed George to move from small forward to power forward, something PG13 didn’t want to do, as Windhorst details.
Speaking of the Pacers, they look like they could become a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference once they get Victor Oladipo back in their lineup, writes Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer.
It has been up-and-down season so far for Denzel Valentine, who was out of the Bulls‘ rotation until late November. As Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago notes, Valentine has been playing his best ball of the year recently, making at least three 3-pointers and scoring in double-digits in each of his last three games. The 26-year-old shooting guard will be a restricted free agent at season’s end.

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