Several NBA sources deny claim that Cavs intend to part ways with J.B. Bickerstaff

More than one league source has disagreed with the notion that the Cleveland Cavaliers plan on parting ways with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

“For starters, the Cavs are said to be weighing whether to bring back Bickerstaff as coach,” Sam Amico wrote. “One league source told Hoops Wire that the Cavs intend to part ways with Bickerstaff, though several other sources denied the team had reached a decision.”

A couple of days ago, it was reported that Bickerstaff is someone who holds lots of equity with the organization and that the Cavaliers won’t rush to make a decision regarding his future.

“Bickerstaff has a lot of equity with the Cavs,” a top NBA source told Terry Pluto. “They aren’t going to rush this decision.”

Bickerstaff — who turned 45 years old in March — began his stint as the team’s head coach in the 2019-20 season and has coached Cleveland to a 170-159 regular-season record.

Recently, he led the Cavaliers to a 48-34 record in the 2023-24 regular season, which was the fourth-best record of any team in the Eastern Conference behind only the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.

The Cavaliers’ solid regular season resulted in them having home-court advantage against the Orlando Magic in the opening round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, and that home-court advantage proved to play a factor in the outcome of the series.

Cleveland eliminated the Magic in seven games and picked up all four of its wins at home, including the deciding Game 7. Donovan Mitchell scored 39 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists while shooting 11-of-27 from the field in a game the Cavaliers won by a score of 106-94 to secure a matchup against the Celtics in the second round of the playoffs.

While the fact that the Cavaliers won their first playoff series of the decade is a solid accomplishment, the team’s stint in the 2024 NBA Playoffs came to an end soon after against Jayson Tatum and the Celtics. Cleveland lost the second-round series in five games, with the team’s lone win of the series coming in Game 2 at TD Garden.

Regardless of whether Bickerstaff or somebody else is the head coach of the Cavaliers in the 2024-25 season, here’s to hoping that Cleveland can learn from its trials and tribulations in the 2024 NBA Playoffs and make an even deeper playoff run next year.