By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
The Cleveland Cavaliers advanced out of the first round of the playoffs without LeBron James in a very long time. However, it was not good enough for head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to keep his job.
He was fired by the Cavaliers on Thursday. The Cavaliers are the latest team looking for a head coach.
The Cavaliers were defeated by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Celtics won 4-1 in the series.
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Despite the gentleman’s sweep, the Cavaliers were without their best player in the final two games. Donovan Mitchell had been sidelined with a calf injury.
Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson is believed to be the front-runner for the job. He previously coached current Cavaliers players Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert when he was the Brooklyn Nets head coach.
According to Cleveland.com, Mitchell, the team’s star player, reportedly “grew frustrated” with his teammates. This was due to a lack of focus.
“I’m sick of y’all sometimes,” Mitchell wrote alongside a cap emoji, as he denied the allegations.
Bickerstaff had been the Cavaliers head coach since 2020. He initially took over on an interim basis when John Beilein resigned.
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In December 2021, Bickerstaff signed a multi-year contract extension with the team.
Before being named the Cavaliers head coach, Bickerstaff was previously the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. He went 170-159 as the Cavaliers head coach in the regular season.
The 56-year-old Atkinson was the Nets head coach from 2016 through 2020. The Northport, New York native served one season as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, before being named an assistant coach with the Warriors in 2021.
As the Nets head coach, Atkinson went 118-190. They made the playoffs during the 2018-19 season, before losing 4-1 in the first round.
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