The Cleveland Cavaliers looked like a potential contender over the last year or two, but now they face some real uncertainty about their future.
There have been many reports that their star-studded backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland could soon get broken up, as well as reports that players were unhappy with J.B. Bickerstaff.
On Thursday, the Cavs fired Bickerstaff after he had been their head coach for four seasons and change, and Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle praised him for the job he did there, per Daniel Donabedian.
Rick Carlisle gave his thoughts on the Cavs firing JB Bickerstaff today.
“I thought JB Bickerstaff did an amazing job.” pic.twitter.com/PgfnHgAEb8
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) May 23, 2024
Carlisle feels Bickerstaff built a strong culture in Cleveland ever since becoming their head coach late in the 2019-20 season.
At the time, the franchise was coming off LeBron James’ second departure in 2018, and it ended up finishing with the worst record in the Eastern Conference in 2020.
But within a couple of years, Bickerstaff had remade Cleveland into a competitive team around Garland and 2021 No. 3 overall draft pick Evan Mobley, and he did it by making them into an excellent defensive team.
Despite some injury issues this season, they were red-hot in January and early February, but they fizzled out afterward and ended up losing in five games to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs.
Many people feel that Bickerstaff’s firing was undeserved and that he may have even been scapegoated in the process.
Now the Cavs have to figure out how to keep Mitchell happy enough to get him to commit to staying with them long-term, as he is one year away from being able to opt out of his contract and become a free agent.
