The Cleveland Cavaliers fired Tyronn Lue on Sunday after an 0-6 start to the season and plenty of apparent dysfunction in the locker room. The move was fairly stunning given how early into the season this was — congrats to all of you that managed to place a wager on Lue as the first coach fired at 12-1 odds — but few would’ve been surprised by a coaching change in Cleveland at some point this season.
Assistant coach Larry Drew will take over in Cleveland, but the specifics about his title and how long he’ll be willing to be at the helm of the Cavs’ ship remains to be seen. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Drew has agreed to be the “voice” of the head coach, but won’t accept the interim tag just yet.
Sources on @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: Larry Drew hasn't agreed to take interim head coach title with Cleveland, but will continue as voice of head coach as team could look to assess their options.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 28, 2018
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski noted shortly after that Drew was seeking some kind of commitment beyond this year if he were to take the head coaching job, rather than being the interim for the remainder of the season then likely out of a job.
Larry Drew is willing to bridge the immediate coaching transition with Cavaliers, but so far is reluctant to commit to rest of season without an agreement of some kind that extends beyond 2018-19, league sources tell ESPN. Those talks are ongoing with Cleveland.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2018
Charania followed up by reporting Drew would rather take on the title of associate head coach again with a new head coach in town sooner rather than take the interim title.
It’s understandable why Drew would be wary of taking the interim title for the rest of the season. He’s been in a lame-duck situation in Atlanta when Danny Ferry was brought in as GM, and he was ousted in Milwaukee when the organization decided to chase Jason Kidd. Last year, three coaches caught the axe during the season, with only J.B. Bickerstaff having the interim tag stripped and being kept for this season in Memphis. Still, this would seem to indicate the Cavs will look to bring in a long-term coach before the season is over, which means their candidate pool may be limited.
Teams likely aren’t going to be all that keen on letting an assistant go to another team in the middle of the season, which significantly narrows the field for a coaching search.
