The NBA’s coaching carousel took no time to start spinning following the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. The Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies parted ways with David Joerger and J.B. Bickerstaff, respectively, while the Chicago Bulls are reportedly on the verge of coming to terms on a contract extension for Jim Boylen.
Now, the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to get in on the fun. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Cavs and head coach Larry Drew decided to part ways with one another.
Sources: The Cavaliers and head coach Larry Drew have mutually parted ways.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 11, 2019
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN confirmed the report, listing a handful of potential candidates for the vacancy.
As expected, Cavaliers opening search for a new head coach. Cleveland plans to run a wide-ranging process, but expect experienced NBA assistants like Utah's Alex Jensen, Portland's David Vanterpool and Nate Tibbetts, Denver's Wes Unseld Jr., to be among multiple candidates.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2019
Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham is expected to be another assistant who'll start getting more attention for head coaching jobs, including with the Cavaliers, league sources said. https://t.co/P25jhxxxeV
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2019
In an interesting twist, Wojnarowski also said the Cavaliers will consider looking at college coaches.
Cleveland is expected to examine the college head coaching ranks too, sources said. Player development will likely be one of the premium factors in the hiring process. https://t.co/P25jhxxxeV
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2019
Drew had a rather strange tenure in Cleveland, taking over six games into the 2018-19 campaign after Tyronn Lue was fired. However, Drew wasn’t eager to take the job unless he was given a long-term deal to stick around, and following a public endorsement by star forward Kevin Love, the two sides agreed to a deal through the remainder of the season that had a partial guarantee for 2019-20.
Prior to his promotion, Drew had served as an assistant in Cleveland since 2014, including a spell in which he served as interim head coach due to Lue stepping away to deal with health issues last season. The Cavaliers went 19-57 under during his tenure at the helm.
