A report dropped on Friday afternoon which highlighted some tension within the Cleveland Cavaliers organization. Head coach John Beilein is still trying to find his footing in his first stint at the helm of an NBA team, and according to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, this has led to players both young and old expressing discontent with his style.
At the heart of all of this has been Beilein’s transition to the league from the college game, which has led to some growing pains. A few unnamed players expressed the frustration that has popped up, whether it be from the “nitpicking” that occurs over “fundamentals,” the terminology he uses, or a host of other things.
“Our assistants are definitely more prepared for the NBA,” one player reportedly said.
The story dropped a few hours before the Cavaliers were set to host the Orlando Magic, and prior to the game, Beilein met with the media. He discussed how he’s changed his approach with the new job — pointing out that he went from almost constantly talking during practices at Michigan to talking during “10-20 percent” of practices now — and how he’s still adjusting. Additionally, Beilein revealed that he’s been encouraged by some of the team’s older players to stay on course.
John Beilein was asked about report released earlier and whether he still feels he still has the guys' support/ears. #Cavs pic.twitter.com/PGUtpliaHO
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) December 6, 2019
“Yup, and we really had … we had more than one of them — two, three, four that we met with,” Beilein told reporters. “And it’s like, ‘Coach, keep doing what you’re doing, because we really need this. We need accountability, we need to play harder, stronger, tougher. Don’t stop what you’re doing.’”
Hanging over all of this is that the team has lost nine of their last 10 games, and when that happens, tensions will invariably rise to the surface. As the story in The Athletic noted, when the squad was 4-5 to start the year, unconventional aspects of Beilein’s style were viewed more as quirks than anything. Add in that finding ways to keep a team optimistic during a rebuilding season is hard enough on his own and the potential for this sort of thing to pop up was incredibly high.
Long-term projects in the NBA always run into a few bumps in the road, and for now, Beilein and the Cavs are dealing with one of those bumps. As he tells it, though, he has supporters in the locker room who want to make sure he stays the course.
