Donovan Mitchell shares his immediate reaction to finding out Cavs fired J.B. Bickerstaff

The Cleveland Cavaliers went through a leadership change after being eliminated from the 2024 NBA Playoffs, firing J.B. Bickerstaff before later hiring Kenny Atkinson to take his place at head coach.

Cavs star Donovan Mitchell recently shared how he reacted to learning that the Cavs were parting ways with Bickerstaff.

“I forget where I was when I heard,” Mitchell said. “I just was like, ‘Alright, this is a business and it’s Koby [Altman], [Mike] Gansey and all of their decision.’ That was the decision to move forward. When I found out, I was just like, ‘Alright, I wish you nothing but the best.’”

Mitchell continued.

“We accomplished some goals,” he said. “I think, obviously, we’re judged on championships. We didn’t win one, but we showed growth and obviously his tenure started before I got here, so you look at the growth of the guys around here — Evan [Mobley], D.G. (Darius Garland), Isaac [Okoro], Dean [Wade] — he did a phenomenal job here and I have no doubt he’ll continue that in Detroit.”

Bickerstaff led the Cavs through a successful rebuild, but there were seemingly doubts about whether he could take the organization all the way to the NBA mountaintop.

In Bickerstaff’s first full season as the team’s head coach, the Cavs won just 22 games. From there, he was able to get things rolling, with the team making the play-in tournament during his second full season, playoffs during his third full season and winning a playoff series during his fourth full season.

Unfortunately for Bickerstaff, he evidently didn’t do quite enough to extend his tenure with the franchise. It’s possible that the Cavs had higher hopes for their last two seasons (after trading for Mitchell) and felt that one series victory during that span wasn’t enough to justify keeping Bickerstaff around.

Now, they’re hoping that Atkinson will be able to take the team from a playoff contender to a championship contender. Mitchell reportedly signed off on the hiring of Atkinson, a positive sign as the franchise enters a new era.

Mitchell signed a highly anticipated contract extension with the Cavs this offseason after they hired Atkinson, so that may say something about his level of confidence in the new skipper.

In order for Cleveland to feel like it made the right move in firing Bickerstaff, the organization will likely want to see an increased level of playoff success in the coming years. Time will tell whether that’s in the cards for the team this season.