BOSTON — The Cleveland Cavaliers took incremental steps in J.B. Bickerstaff’s four-plus seasons at the helm. But that might not be enough to save Bickerstaff’s job. Rumors have swirled that Bickerstaff could be out as Cleveland’s head coach after not getting a young and talented Cavaliers squad, which acquired Donovan Mitchell prior to the 2022-23 […]
BOSTON — The Cleveland Cavaliers took incremental steps in J.B. Bickerstaff’s four-plus seasons at the helm.
But that might not be enough to save Bickerstaff’s job.
Rumors have swirled that Bickerstaff could be out as Cleveland’s head coach after not getting a young and talented Cavaliers squad, which acquired Donovan Mitchell prior to the 2022-23 season, past the second round of the NBA playoffs during his tenure.
Cleveland certainly could look for someone else to get it over that hump and Bickerstaff addressed his coaching future with the Cavaliers’ season officially over after their Game 5 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Wednesday night.
“No one’s told me I’m not,” Bickerstaff said when asked if he expects to be the Cavaliers coach next season. “So, I’ll keep showing up until they tell me not to.”
Bickerstaff took over during the middle of the 2019-20 after John Beilein abruptly resigned. After a 22-win season during Bickerstaff’s first full season as head coach, the Cavaliers won 51 games last year and went 48-34 this season to earn the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
But playoff success never came for Bickerstaff. The Cavaliers won just one playoff series under his watch, which came when they defeated the Orlando Magic in seven games. Cleveland was then severely undermanned during its series against the Celtics.
“I think we’ve continued to build this thing the right way,” Bickerstaff said. “Every single year we’ve improved, continued to get better. Play-in, playoffs, win a round. Players have gotten better, guys have had great years. This is definitely a place I want to be.”
Bickerstaff did get some backing from veteran forward Marcus Morris Sr., who joined the Cavaliers in March after executing a contract buyout when he was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the San Antonio Spurs.
“I think everybody respects him,” Morris said. “… I think he’s the guy for the job. I have a great relationship with him, but outside of that, he’s a team guy, he’s a player’s coach.”
