NBA insider hints Cavs may be up to something, speaks to Dan Gilbert’s influence on coaching search

The Cleveland Cavaliers are again looking for a new head coach, and NBA insider Brian Windhorst is declaring that owner Dan Gilbert will again be intensely involved in the search.

“Dan wanted to hire David Blatt,” Windhorst said. “That wasn’t David Griffin’s first choice. David Griffin’s first choice was Ty Lue, okay?

“Dan wanted to hire John Beilein, okay? That was Dan Gilbert’s hire, wanted to hire. Dan Gilbert wanted to hire Tom Izzo back in 2010.

“So, if you’re asking me if Dan Gilbert’s gonna have influence on the coaching hire, hell yes he’s going to have influence on the coaching hire. And there may be candidates out there, including coaching candidates, that we don’t know or that I don’t know about yet.”

After firing J.B. Bickerstaff last month, the Cavs will enter the 2023-24 NBA season with their sixth head coach since the 2015-16 season.

The Cavs reportedly plan to meet with possibly 10 candidates in a process that may take weeks to complete. It is expected to be conducted in stages, and it is unknown at what point Gilbert might get involved.

The list of possible replacements includes a mix of former NBA head coaches and assistants. Speaking about one of the hottest names in the NBA coaching rumor mill, NBA analyst Chris Broussard raised the idea that Dan Hurley is a better fit with the Cavs than with the Los Angeles Lakers, who reportedly are targeting the University of Connecticut head coach for their current vacancy.

Bickerstaff was able to get the Cavs into the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since a four-year stretch under Blatt and Lue. However, the Cavs were eliminated in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs by the Boston Celtics after a very disappointing first-round loss to the New York Knicks the year before.

It is unknown what type of team the new coach will inherit, with the future of superstar Donovan Mitchell seemingly always in flux and trade rumors surrounding Darius Garland. The Cavs reportedly would like to keep together their young core that includes the two star guards plus big men Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

Under Gilbert’s ownership, the Cavs have had strings of success followed by playoff droughts. After Gilbert purchased the franchise in 2005, Mike Brown had a relatively long run before he was replaced by Byron Scott. Brown then returned for the 2013-14 season before Blatt took over the following campaign.

Lue eventually replaced Blatt, led the Cavs to a championship in 2016 and then was subsequently replaced by Larry Drew very early in the 2018-19 campaign. Beilein then took over but didn’t finish the 2019-20 season as he was replaced by Bickerstaff, whose tenure just ended.