Coaching in the NBA is the worst, great job in sports—J.B. Bickerstaff Out As Cavs Head Coach

Coaching in the NBA is the worst, great job in sports—on one hand, you get to coach in the NBA, but on the other hand, you are always just a player complaint or tweet away from hitting the unemployment line.

After 5 years, J.B. Bickerstaff got the raw end of the stick today when the Cleveland Cavilars dismissed him from his head coaching job. Bickerstaff, who did a fantastic job picking up the pieces left by former head coach John Beilein, led the Cavs to 99 regular season wins in the past two years. 

Bickerstaff took over the team as its interim coach in 2020 and compiled a record of 170-159 (.517) record in his five seasons with the Cavs.

Rumors flying around the Cavs after their Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the Boston Celtics have included everything from Darius Garland and Even Mobley being shipped out of Cleveland to Donovan Mitchell wanting Bickerstaff out.

Mitchell, who may sign a 4 year $204 million extension with the Cavs, most likely had a hand in Bickerstaff's exit.  

Expect Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, who led the Brooklyn Nets to the playoffs with current Cavs Allen and Caris LeVert to get a call as the potential replacement for Bickerstaff.

THE UNDERRATED OPINION
The Cavs were terrible before Bickerstaff took over, and his firing today was clearly a case of a player or players flexing their pull inside the Cavs organization.  Normally, when something like this happens, a new coach is brought in, and the players are happy for about 6-months before everything unravels. The Cavs are actually built to win now, but trading away Garland and Mobley would set the team back a few years - so if this is what Mitchell wants, the reality for the Cavs in the next couple of seasons will most likely peak at the play-in, not a championship!