Cavaliers Part Ways With John Beilein, Promote J.B. Bickerstaff
The Cleveland Cavaliers and coach John Beilein are officially parting ways, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports. J.B. Bickerstaff will be promoted to the head coaching role and won’t receive an “interim” tag.
Beilein began talking to general manager Koby Altman about the possibility of stepping down from his position before the All-Star break began, sources tell Wojnarowski. He’ll have an opportunity to say goodbye to players and staff on Wednesday once the team returns from its All-Star break. He’ll end his brief tenure in Cleveland with a record of 14-40.
We heard earlier today that Beilein was expected to walk away from the remainder of his four-year contract, which he signed this past summer. The pact, which featured a fifth-year team option, would have paid him approximately $4-5M per season. Wojnarowski suggests the two sides reached a settlement that will pay Beilein some of the money remaining on his 2019/20 salary.
A longtime college coach, Beilein joined the Cavaliers after a successful run at the University of Michigan, but never fully adjusted to or got comfortable in the NBA, according to a report earlier this week. His son Patrick Beilein’s resignation from his head coaching job at Niagara in October reportedly took a toll on the Cavs’ coach. The younger Beilein stepped down for personal reasons before coaching his first game at Niagara.
On- and off-court issues for the Cavaliers piled up during Beilein’s first year. A report in December suggested that his coaching style was alienating some players. About a month later, the 67-year-old was at the center of a mini-controversy when he reportedly told his players they were no longer playing “like a bunch of thugs.” Beilein, who said he had intended to say “slugs,” apologized to the team.
On top of all that, the Cavaliers have struggled this season to balance developing their young prospects with keeping their veteran players happy. Kevin Love has publicly expressed his frustration with the situation in Cleveland multiple times this season, and both Love and Tristan Thompson reportedly wanted to be moved before the trade deadline.
Although management and ownership was committed to seeing things through with Beilein, the veteran coach was described as being unhappy in Cleveland, according to Wojnarowski. There had been rumblings for several days suggesting that his time as Cavs head coach would end sooner rather than later.
As for Bickerstaff, he’s in his first season as an associate head coach in Cleveland. He led the Grizzlies for two seasons previously, taking over for David Fizdale as an interim head coach during the 2017/18 season before becoming the club’s official leader in 2018/19.
In addition to his head coaching experience in Memphis, Bickerstaff spent five seasons on Houston’s bench and served as an interim head coach briefly for the Rockets after Kevin McHale was let go. He began his coaching career at the age of 24 as an assistant under his father, Bernie Bickerstaff, on the expansion Bobcats.
Wojnarowski writes that Bickerstaff was hired as part of an eventual succession plan for Beilein, so barring another unexpected turn of events, it sounds like he’ll hold the head coaching job beyond this season.
Luke Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/18/20
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Clippers have assigned Mfiondu Kabengele and Terance Mann to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the team announced. Kabengele was the team’s first-round draft pick back in June.
- The Rockets have assigned Chris Clemons and Isaiah Hartenstein to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Fox 26’s Mark Berman tweets. Hartenstein, who is one of two seven-footers on the team, has started two games for the NBA club this season.
- The Lakers have assigned Talen Horton-Tucker to the G League, according to the league’s transaction log. Horton-Tucker was the team’s only draft pick back in June.
- The Nets have assigned Dzanan Musa to the Long Island Nets. Musa has appeared in 35 NBA games this season.
- KZ Okpala has been sent to the G League by the Heat, per the league’s transaction log. Okpala was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft.
- The Suns have sent Jalen Lecque to the Northern Arizona Suns. The rookie has appeared in just four games for the NBA club this season.
Western Notes: Harkless, Lakers, Winslow
If New York buys out Maurice Harkless, the Lakers may be interested in signing the wing, Sam Amick of The Athletic said on The Sedano Show earlier today (h/t The Lakers Review). The Lakers, who missed out on Reggie Jackson to their L.A. rivals, are monitoring the Harkless’ situation.
Harkless came to the Knicks in the Marcus Morris deal at the trade deadline and it’s unclear whether he’ll reach a buyout agreement with the team. Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson may be angling for a sign-and-trade this summer and the Lakers would be a good fit for his services, as I wrote for Heavy.com. The team doesn’t have a long-term option at the center position and Thompson would be a nice partner to Anthony Davis in the frontcourt.
- The Grizzlies traded for Justise Winslow to be in the team’s starting lineup eventually, Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian writes. Winslow is still recovering from a back injury, so Memphis is expected to bring him along slowly.
- Bill Oram of The Athletic chronicles Dwight Howard‘s redemption story with the Lakers. “He’s been a guy that’s always put up great numbers,” former teammate J.J. Redick said, “but I think he’s having an impact in a really meaningful way defensively on the boards, screening, rolling to the boards.”
Kyrie Irving To See Specialist, Out Indefinitely
Kyrie Irving, who is nursing knee and shoulder injuries, isn’t expected to return to the court anytime soon, as Malika Andrews of ESPN.com relays. The Nets‘ point guard is scheduled to see another specialist for this shoulder this week.
“That’s about all I can tell you,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “His shoulder continues to bother him. That’s about the extent of it now.”
Irving missed 26 games earlier this season because of shoulder woes. He should have a clearer timetable for a return after seeing the specialist.
Atkinson said that Irving didn’t re-aggravate the injury on a specific play or during a specific practice. It’s something that has been lingering.
“A cortisone shot lasts as long as it can,” Irving said back in December. “You either continue to get cortisone shots, which is obviously detrimental to your health and your muscles, or you go get arthroscopic surgery. For me, it’s just about being able to go back out there after the right amount of rehab, the right amount of rest and recovery and see what we can do for the rest of the season and then re- evaluate after a few months.”
The Nets inked Irving to a four-year deal during the offseason. He has missed a total of 33 games for the club because of his various ailments.
J.B. Bickerstaff Expected To Become New Cavaliers Head Coach
John Beilein is not expected to be the coach of the Cavaliers for much longer. According to Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, resolution of the situation is expected to come on Wednesday.
Sources tell the publication that Beilein is expected to walk away from the remainder of his five-year contract, which is worth approximately $4-5MM per season. The final year of that deal is a team option, however.
J.B. Bickerstaff is expected to get the promotion to head coach. Bickerstaff’s father and former long-time NBA coach, Bernie Bickerstaff, is a senior advisor with the franchise.
The younger Bickerstaff is in his first season as an associate head coach in Cleveland. He led the Grizzlies for two seasons previously, taking on the head coaching role first as an interim head coach during the 2017/18 season before becoming the official leader in 2018/19.
In addition to his head coaching experience, Bickerstaff spent five seasons on Houston’s bench and served as an interim head coach briefly for the Rockets. He began his coaching career at the age of 24 as an assistant on his father’s Bobcats expansion team.
Beilein, who is 67 years old, left Michigan to be the coach of the Cavaliers last summer. Sources tell Charania and Lloyd that several factors played a part in him stepping down, including the fact that the details surrounding his son’s resignation at Niagara University have taken a toll on him.
Community Shootaround: Timberwolves’ Long-Term Outlook
The Timberwolves made a bevy of deals prior to the trade deadline, bringing in seven new players. The team is in a grand rebuild and every move is calculated, as Britt Robson of The Athletic writes.
“’Why didn’t we make trades for other positions?’ Because we wanted these guys,” President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said.. “We had to make sure we made the right decisions.”
The team’s biggest acquisition was D’Angelo Russell. The Wolves didn’t sign a point guard in free agency because they had their eyes set on Russell. Rosas had been pursuing the former No. 2 overall pick to be the court partner to Karl-Anthony Towns essentially since he came on board.
The former Rockets executive now has ownership of the existing roster, similar to how Tom Thibodeau went all-in on the TimberBulls. Will it work long-term?
Do you believe the core Minnesota has assembled will reach great heights? Or will they, like past Timberwolves teams, fail to make any major noise?
Let us know in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
Kemba Walker Aims To Win Playoff Series With Celtics
Kemba Walker left the only franchise he ever knew during the offseason, signing a four-year deal with the Celtics. After years of finishing in the lottery or competing for a low playoff seed in Charlotte, he’s enjoying his time in Boston, as Jared Weiss of The Athletic details.
“I think I’ve definitely earned respect from my peers and people around the league,” the four-time All-Star says. “But for me personally, I just really haven’t — I’ve only been to the playoffs two times in eight years. I played well in the playoffs, but I never got out the first round. So I haven’t really done much, you know? Definitely still have some ways to go.”
Walker believes that Kyrie Irving would have gotten the All-Star start if the Brooklyn point guard hadn’t gotten hurt.
“He’s playing well,man, he just wasn’t healthy,” Walker said graciously.
Irving had taken the starting spot over Walker in past years. Walker was seen as a player who was just putting up stats, someone who wasn’t able to carry a team to great heights.
“Obviously, last year was my first (All-Star) start,” Walker says. “I mean, the game was in Charlotte. I think that’s probably why I really got the start. I was averaging about 26 and a half (points per game) at the time. This year, like 21, something like that or whatever. But now I’m more so being recognized for being on a winning team, not more so recognized for my stats, you know?”
Mark Cuban Discusses Trades Mavericks Almost Made
The Mavericks didn’t make major moves before the trade deadline, though Mark Cuban says he tried to get more done.
“We tried. We came really, really close on a couple deals. Two really big pieces,” Cuban said on Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan (h/t SportsDay) “They were both three-team deals, and in one case was a trade-and-extend and we couldn’t get the player to agree on terms. And the other piece, one of the teams just decided they didn’t want to trade a key guy to make it happen.”
A report after the trade deadline indicated that the Mavs made an effort to acquire Danny Green from the Lakers as part of L.A.’s Marcus Morris talks with New York. The Lakers were said to be unwilling to surrender both Green and Kyle Kuzma in that deal, so that sounds like the second would-be trade Cuban is referring to.
Cuban feels good about Dallas’ roster. He hopes the team can pull out homecourt advantage in the first round. He also would like to see the squad win a playoff series.
“Trust me, I know as well as anybody we haven’t won a playoff round since the championship season and so, you know, that’s our goal, and then from there we hope to build on that and see what happens,” Cuban said.
Bringing Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis along further is also a goal for the second half of the season. Cuban doesn’t believe the Mavericks have played their best basketball yet.
“Because of the injuries, losing Dwight Powell was a big blow for us, you know, now we’ve got two new guys we’ve got to integrate, Luka coming back, [Porzingis] you know, everybody getting their minutes straight and their roles straight. It’s like any other Mavs team when we were making runs. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Cuban said. “If we can get a good run going to end the season going into the playoffs… everybody on that team believes they can beat anybody.”
Wendell Carter Jr. Hopes To Return After All-Star Break
A January 6 game against Dallas was the last time Wendell Carter Jr. suited up for the Bulls. The former No. 7 overall pick, who has been recovering from a high ankle sprain since then, feels like he is close to making his return to the court.
“I’m definitely feeling a lot better, I’m continuing to do rehab and therapy on my ankle every day,” Carter said (via Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports). “Just trying to get it feeling right. And I want to be back next game, that’s what I’m shooting for right now. I don’t know if that’s gonna happen, but that’s what I’m shooting for.”
It’s worth noting that this is not the official timeline set by the team but rather WCJ’s feeling of the situation. The Bulls’ next contest is February 20 vs. the Hornets. Returning that night would put him in line with the team’s initial 4-to-6 week recovery timeline.
Basketball Hall Of Fame Selects Eight Finalists
The Basketball Hall of Fame has selected eight finalists for the 2020 class. This year’s Hall-of-Famers will be officially announced in April. Let’s take a look at the candidates:
Kobe Bryant
Bryant, who tragically passed away late last month, helped the Lakers bring home five NBA championships. He took home the Finals MVP on two of those occasions. He was selected to 18 NBA All-Star games during his career in Los Angeles.
Tim Duncan
Duncan, who is currently an assistant coach with the Spurs, brought San Antonio five NBA championships during his time in the league. He won Finals MVP three times and was named to 15 All-Star games.
Kevin Garnett
Garnett won a championship upon arriving in Boston. Over the course of his career, the big man was named to 15 NBA All-Star games and nine All-Defensive First Teams. He played for the Wolves, Celtics, and Nets in his career.
Tamika Catchings
Catchings won a WNBA championship during her time with the Indiana Fever. She was selected to 10 WNBA All-Star games and won four Olympic Gold Medals for Team USA during her playing days.
Rudy Tomjanovich
Tomjanovich is just one of three coaches to win an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal. He coached the Rockets to two championships in the early 90’s and had a nice career as a player prior to that, as he was selected to five NBA All-Star games.
Kim Mulkey
Mulkey is the first person to win a National Championship as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. She played point guard for Louisiana Tech in the early 80’s and has coached at both Louisiana Tech and Baylor.
Eddie Sutton
Sutton coached in the college ranks for 36 years. He was the coach of the year four times in his career and he took two different teams—Arkansas, Oklahoma State (2x)—to the Final Four.
Barbara Stevens
Stevens is only the fifth coach in NCAA women’s basketball history to achieve over 1,000 career wins. She has led Clark University, UMass, and Bentley throughout her coaching career.