Cavs: Ranking every head coach in franchise history – Current Malaise
11. J.B. Bickerstaff
Record: 27-56
Ten times in franchise history the Cavaliers have fired a coach partway through the season. Just twice that interim coach has stuck around to start the following year. In 1981 Don Delaney coached the final 11 games of the season, then started the following season and went 4-11 before he was fired.
J.B. Bickerstaff has survived for much longer than Mr. Delaney. After John Beilein and the Cavs proved to be a disastrous fit he took over as the interim head coach in early 2020. This was not new territory for Bickerstaff, as he took over partway through the season with the Houston Rockets in 2015-16 and the Memphis Grizzlies in 2017-18.
In Cleveland, he took a team that was in pieces after a 14-40 start with Beilein and went a respectable 5-6 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season. That sliver of optimism, and likely a desire to keep things inexpensive, saw Bickerstaff retained for the 2020-21 season when he went 22-50 amidst a host of injuries and trades where the roster continually morphed beneath him.
He will have another swing at the piñata this season, with a suddenly expensive roster and plenty of young talent. It’s unrealistic to expect Bickerstaff to lead this group to the postseason, but he has to demonstrate he is bringing something to the table more than simply trying out the next guy. Otherwise, he’ll probably give way to coach number 24 for the franchise.