Report: J.B. Bickerstaff’s future with Cavaliers in ‘serious jeopardy’
The Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated in five games by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In a post-mortem report published immediately after their elimination by Shams Charania, Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, the job status of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is in “serious jeopardy.”
“Two league sources said the team is likely to take some time — multiple days — to make a decision,” the report read. “Bickerstaff, despite all the pressure he and members of the organization above and below him were under this season, has built equity with the front office and was at the helm for Cleveland’s first appearance in a conference semifinal since 2018.”
The report cites an overall disconnect–including schematically and habitually–between Bickerstaff and the teams’ players, namely five-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell.
“Multiple league sources have said, for months, that Mitchell did not have great confidence in Bickerstaff, and he was not alone,” the report read. “Several players questioned Bickerstaff’s strategies, game management, practice habits and accountability measures, privately and publicly, throughout the season.
“Multiple veterans in the Cavs locker room grew frustrated with Bickerstaff for treating the Cavs as a young team with much to learn, instead of as a team ready to contend. They were also less than enthused by the Cavs’ offense last spring and into the first part of this season. Mitchell was among them. Players would leave practices and morning shootarounds wondering aloud: ‘Why did we even do that? What did we accomplish’ — so perplexed by the lack of structure and intensity in the workouts.”
Bickerstaff’s been on the hot seat for nearly the entire season, so this isn’t new news. Though Wednesday evening’s report poured gasoline on the fire for what could be a long offseason for Cleveland.
In five years with the franchise–four full seasons–he went 170-159 (.517), including two playoff berths (2022-23, 2023-24). Though both seasons ended in disappointing defeats. Last year, the New York Knicks downed Cleveland in five games, taking advantage of its lack of shooting and toughness on the glass.
Cleveland was barely able to scoot by an inexperienced Orlando Magic squad in the opening round this year. Donovan Mitchell scored 89 points over the final two games of the series, springing a second-half comeback in Game 7 after trailing by as much as 18 in the first half. It was without Jarrett Allen for the final eight games and Mitchell for the final two against Boston, who simply out-classed them with more talent and two-way firepower.
Bickerstaff deserves far more credit for how he handled this postseason relative to last, though it appears he could be another fall guy for a team that doesn’t have good enough roster construction.
Plus, if general manager Koby Altman–who allegedly admonished Bickerstaff in “front of his entire staff for playing Mitchell such heavy minutes”–decides to stick with the 45-year-old head coach for one more season, there’s a possibility he won’t have at least one of Darius Garland or Mitchell at his disposal. Yikes!
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