The Cleveland Cavaliers will be on the hunt for a new head coach after they dismissed J.B Bickerstaff, according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Bickerstaff joined the team as the associate head coach in 2019 and became the interim head coach in February 2020 before the season shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Cavaliers had a 22-50 record the following season but showed promise during the 2021-22 season with a 44-38 record and berth in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
That summer, the Cavaliers traded for Donovan Mitchell, won 51 games, and clinched the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference in their first return to the playoffs since LeBron James led the Cavs to the NBA Finals in 2018. Despite the regular-season success, the Cavaliers were bounced in the first round of the playoffs last season after being dominated by the New YorkKnicks.
This season, the Cavaliers made it past the first round after a seven-game series against the Orlando Magic, but lost in five games against the Boston Celtics in Round 2 with Mitchell injured for the final two games of the series. Bickerstaff ends his tenure with a 176-170 record as the Cavs coach, including the playoffs. Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson and New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego are among the coaches who the Cavaliers will target this summer, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
The Cavaliers have multiple decisions about their roster that will loom over the summer in the wake of Bickerstaff's firing. The fit between Mitchell and Darius Garland in the backcourt as well as the fit between Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the frontcourt never came together.
According to multiple reports, the team is considering several roster changes, including Mitchell, who is eligible for a contract $208 million extension and can opt out of his current deal after the 2024-25 season. With Mitchell's future unclear, we can expect more changes in Cleveland soon.
