The voice of the Cleveland Cavaliers may have just become the interim head coach of the Cavs. If that doesn’t mean anything at all, then you clearly haven’t followed the story of Cavs acting head coach Larry Drew.
The assistant coach became the acting head coach last week when Tyronn Lue was let go after a slow start to the season. The Cavs announced that Drew would serve as interim head coach, but Drew had been there before with other franchises and knows that often means you’re out of a job by the end of the year when the team finally finds someone they want on a more permanent basis.
Instead, Drew made it clear that he would be the “voice” of the team but didn’t want the all-important interim tag unless there would be some language in his contract that meant he had a chance to be the team’s head coach next season. It was all a bit weird, but apparently the naming conventions will get a bit clearer, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that Drew and the Cavs had agreed to a deal that would officially make Drew the team’s interim head coach.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1059571611555295232
Wojnarowski reported that the new deal also includes a buyout for 2019-2020 if the team were to seek a new head coach after this year.
Drew will be the head coach for rest of this season and has an agreement for 2019-20 if Cavs choose to keep him — or will get a buyout payment should team decide to move on to a new coach, sources said. https://t.co/Jseeh7U20U
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 5, 2018
It seems like a huge win for Drew in that he’s at least guaranteed to get some money out of a deal if the Cavs do, indeed, try to replace him after the year. Given the drama that Cleveland has with a now-former assistant coach, getting some clarity from the franchise and securing the proverbial bag is certainly a good idea in Drew’s case. We’ll see if they improve under Drew and if he coaches himself into another year on the bench. For now, though, the job’s all his.
