CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – J.B. Bickerstaff was fired by the Cavaliers on Thursday, a move that was a week in the making following the team’s ouster by Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Bickertstaff’s dismissal comes following back-to-back playoff appearances and the first playoff series victory without LeBron James on the roster since 1993.
“J.B. is a well-respected NBA coach and an incredible human-being,” Koby Altman, president of basketball operations, said. “Over the past four years, he helped establish a culture that progressively drove players to become the best versions of themselves. Decisions like these are never easy, particularly when you look back at where this franchise rebuild started under his leadership.
“The NBA is a unique business that sometimes requires aggressive risk-taking to move a franchise forward and ultimately compete for championships. We owe a ton of gratitude for everything J.B. has contributed to the Cavaliers and his engagement in the Cleveland community. We wish J.B., his wife Nikki and their three children the best in their future endeavors.”
Bickerstaff compiled a 170-159 regular season record in Cleveland, including a 22-win season his first year and winning no less than 44 games in the three others.
The last two years combined only Denver, Boston, Philadelphia and Milwaukee won more games than the Cavs did. Cleveland, Denver and Milwaukee are the only teams to secure top-four seeds the last two seasons as well.
Shortly after the firing of Bickerstaff a list of potential candidates to replace him emerged including former Nets head coach and current Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, former Nets head coach and current Pelicans assistant James Borrego, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Nuggets assistant David Adelman and Bucks assistant Dave Joerger.
Bickerstaff is a true gentleman of the game.
The list of Bickerstaff’s transgressions as head coach are mild at best.
No locker room of players is completely happy with their head coach – regardless of sport. Bickerstaff was no different. Even while players took subtle jabs at Bickerstaff throughout this past season, he never said a bad word about his team.
Some would argue he spent too much time taking up for his players by barking at the officials non stop during games.
Post All-Star break struggles the last few seasons and exits in five games the last two post seasons make the firing of Bickerstaff justifiable.
Bickerstaff took over for John Beilein as the interim head coach midway through the 2019-2020 season and was named the full-time head coach after that campaign.
Bickerstaff received a contract extension through the 2026-27 season in 2021.
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