Why Jordi Fernandez should be the Cavaliers’ next head coach

The Cleveland Cavaliers are amid what’s expected to be a long head coaching search, but there is one guy that they should have in mind, and that’s Denver Nuggets assistant coach Jordi Fernandez.

As you probably know, the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for a new head coach and it’s reportedly expected to be a long search, as the Cavs want to make sure they get this right. There seems to be a number of good candidates, but the one guy who sticks out from the rest of reported names is Denver Nuggets assistant coach Jordi Fernandez.

The Cavs are in a critical part of their early rebuild as they’re looking to find the coach who will work best with their current young players they have now and the two young players they will have after the draft in June. Whether they can get the right guy will likely have a say in what happens for the team down the line.

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Cleveland reportedly interviewed former Memphis Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff yesterday, according to the Associated Press‘ Tom Withers, and on Tuesday, it was also reported by the New York Times‘ Marc Stein that Cleveland would interview Utah Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen this week for the same head coaching position (and Bickerstaff before Withers’ report).

Stein would shortly after note that one of the candidates Cleveland interviewed before, Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Jamahl Mosley, is expected to advance to the Cavs’ “next round” in their coaching search, too, for the record.

It’s been long assumed and reported throughout the last few months by Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor and Sam Amico of Amico Hoops, among others, that the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to find a first-time head coach that has a player development background, so as our Dan Gilinsky has noted, Jensen is a good candidate, but as Gilinsky also has noted, I would like to see Fernandez get the job for a number of reasons.

As KJG has mentioned before the Cavs have a bunch of young players that will project to be key pieces moving forward, such as Cedi Osman, Collin Sexton and Ante Zizic, and the focus is on them and their development going forward.

When Cleveland finds a head coach, that will likely be at the forefront, and it just so happens that working with young players and development is something that Fernandez is very good at.

Here’s what Nuggets head coach Mike Malone initially had to say about Fernandez, per Amico (who would say the Cavaliers “seemingly intend to speak” with the Nuggets assistant coach, by the way, anyhow).

"“We worked together in Cleveland,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone told Amico Hoops. “His first year with the Cavaliers was my last.”"

Malone went on how to praise Fernandez’s work with player development, too, which is just what I like to hear (again, per Amico).

"“He’s a very good teacher; he relates especially well to young players,” Malone said. “To see how much he’s grown since our year together in Cleveland is amazing.”"

It’s also important to note that general manager Koby Altman mentioned at his end-of-season press conference that he is looking for a “culture driver,” and essentially a head coach that will bring young players along nicely for the long-term, as WKYC’s Ben Axelrod noted.

Fernandez is exactly what the doctor ordered in those ways and that’s one of the reasons why he should be the leading candidate for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fernandez’s first year in Denver was the 2016-2017 season, and since he’s been in Denver the nuggets have done a terrific job developing young guys and Fernandez has seemingly helped the likes of Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, Jamal Murray, along with Malik Beasley and Monte Morris, become core players and has likely been a factor in the Nuggets finishing with the second-best record in the Western Conference in 2018-19.

Fernandez reportedly has strong ties to the Cavs’ organization as well.

He was hired by Mike Brown as a player development coach when Brown was the head coach of the Cavs (during his first stint) and as Malone mentioned, he and Fernandez worked very well in Cleveland. Fernandez was also an assistant and eventual head coach for the Canton Charge (the Cavs’ G-League affiliate) from 2013-2016, per Basketball Reference.

Fernandez seems to check all the boxes in terms of what Altman and the Cavaliers are looking for in a young coach who can grow with the team, in that he’s known for having an excellent background in player development, and his strong ties to the organization seem to help.

The Cavs seem to have a long search ahead and there are potentially a number of good candidates, but if you ask me, Fernandez should be brought back to Cleveland. He seems to be exactly what Cleveland needs moving forward.