Report: J.B. Bickerstaff felt he deserved a few more seasons with Cavs to ‘finish what he started’

One recent report suggests that J.B. Bickerstaff — currently the head coach of the Detroit Pistons — was unhappy with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ decision to fire him after the team lost to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

“I can tell you Bickerstaff was none-too-pleased that the Cavs decided to part ways,” Sam Amico wrote. “He seemingly felt as if he deserved a few more seasons to finish what he started — much like the seven years Michael Malone got with the [Denver] Nuggets before finally winning a title. The Cavs felt otherwise and hired former Brooklyn Nets head coach and ex-Golden State Warriors assistant (boo) Kenny Atkinson.”

Bickerstaff coached the Cavaliers for five seasons, from the 2019-20 season through the 2023-24 campaign. During that time, he led Cleveland to a solid 170-59 regular-season record. The Cavaliers had three winning seasons with Bickerstaff leading the team from the sidelines, as Cleveland won 44 regular-season games in the 2021-22 season, 51 in the 2022-23 season and 48 in the 2023-24 campaign, his swan song as the squad’s head coach.

But the 45-year-old’s regular-season success coaching the Cavaliers didn’t quite translate into the playoffs. After all, Cleveland won just six of its 17 playoff games with Bickerstaff as head coach and earned just one playoff series victory.

That lone playoff series victory came against the Orlando Magic in the opening round of 2024 NBA Playoffs. Cleveland’s series win didn’t come easy, though, as the series spanned seven games, with the home team winning every contest.

Plus, at points in the deciding Game 7, it seemed that the Cavaliers’ season could come to an end in the first round once again. Cleveland trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half of the game, but the team played much better on the offensive side of the ball across the final two quarters and won the game by a final score of 106-94.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers in scoring with 39 points while shooting 11-of-27 from the field, 2-of-8 from 3-point range and 15-of-17 from the free-throw line. Caris LeVert dropped the second-most points of any player on the team with 15 and knocked down five of his nine shots from the floor.

Hopefully, Bickerstaff will help the Pistons get back to their winning ways now that he is the team’s newest head coach.