Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Beilein has endured a rough first season coaching in the NBA, with questions remaining among team members concerning his ability to achieve success in the league.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com looked at Beilein’s struggles to connect with NBA players after having coached at the college level for more than four decades.
The team’s inability to find success on the court has reportedly caused some continued doubt about Beilein’s potential to win.
“According to multiple sources, there are more than a few roaming that locker room who still question Beilein’s ability to succeed at this level,” Fedor wrote.
On Saturday night, the Cavaliers squandered a 19-point lead during the second half of their Saturday night loss to the Chicago Bulls. The loss dropped their season record to 12-31.
Beilein has been adjusting to coaching professional players, though the process has been a slow one. One of the ways that he’s evolving is by listening more to players about the necessity of practices during busy stretches of games.
The most controversial stretch of Beilein’s tenure came earlier this month, when his criticism of players during a film session caused a firestorm. He subsequently apologized for using the term “thugs” instead of his intended word “slugs” to describe the players.
Given the collection of young players on the team and the rebuilding process that began last year, Beilein wasn’t expected to win immediately. Still, there is no doubt that the season thus far has been a major disappointment.
The Cavaliers’ struggles could get even worse if veterans are dealt before next month’s trade deadline. That will put more pressure on Beilein to adapt to his new surroundings, with questions likely to remain until the team finally turns the corner.
Whether Beilein is around for that emergence remains to be seen.
