A report indicates that Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was too hands on in his approach and desired to be in control of everything that took place at practices and shootarounds.
“I heard complaints that Bickerstaff was too hands on, that he wanted to be in control of everything at practices and shootarounds,” Jason Lloyd wrote.
The Cavaliers announced on Thursday that they have fired Bickerstaff, who was one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the NBA and coached the team to 170 regular-season wins compared to 159 losses in more than four seasons leading the team from the sidelines.
Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, former Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel — who coached the Los Angeles Lakers to a title in 2020 — New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego and former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts have already emerged as candidates to replace Bickerstaff.
Bickerstaff’s final game as the head coach of the Cavaliers before the team fired him was Game 5 of Cleveland’s second-round series against the Boston Celtics. The Cavaliers lost the game by 15 points in spite of a monster two-way showing from big man Evan Mobley, who dropped 33 points on 15-of-24 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and two blocks.
But prior to bowing out to the Celtics in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Bickerstaff led the Cavaliers to their first playoff series victory since 2018, when LeBron James and Kevin Love were still on the roster. Cleveland beat a talented albeit inexperienced Orlando Magic team in seven games in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Cavaliers were in jeopardy of losing the deciding Game 7 of that first-round series, as Cleveland was down by 18 points in the first half but then proceeded to outscore Orlando 63-41 across the final two frames.
Cavaliers fans should keep their eyes peeled over the next few days for any names that are connected to the team as it looks for its newest head coach. While the Cavaliers experienced plenty of success under Bickerstaff, perhaps the notion that he was too hands on means that Cleveland made the right decision by parting ways with him.
