3 big questions for the Cavs after acquiring Rajon Rondo

Big question #3: Why did the Cavs extend J.B. Bickerstaff’s contract until 2026-27?

I’ve shared my opinion on the Cavaliers head coach in the past. In general, I wasn’t sold on his skill set as a head coach, his ability to maximize his team’s strengths and help create a consistent winner in the Cavs. Bickerstaff’s track record in his career hasn’t been great.

He only has one winning season in his coaching past. That was in 2015-16 when he finished with a 37-34 record with the Houston Rockets. He has a 132-203 overall record as a head coach. In my previous article on this subject, I compared how he and former Cavaliers head coach Lenny Wilkens were very different from each other. Their biggest difference as I see it is in their approach to coaching and their demeanor on the sideline.

Maybe I’m the only one that notices this, but Bickerstaff always seems agitated when he’s coaching. There’s nothing wrong with being a bit agitated but you rarely see him happy. He argues calls made by the referees on his team or the other team all game long. In my experience, that kind of hounding of the referees isn’t good for the game. These young players for the Cavs are then witnesses to that approach and that wears on them. Then you see the young, inexperienced players arguing with the referees or opponents as well.

Again, maybe this glimpse at the coach is off-base but I’d like to see a coach that is in more control of their emotions. That’s where I see this big difference between him and a coach like Wilkens. Wilkens would argue with the calls and such but you never saw him enter the court and try to get to a referee to argue and then have his own assistant coaches have to hold him back and not get a technical foul called on him like he did a few games ago against the Boston Celtics.

You might think I am nitpicking, and maybe I am, but extending a contract to a coach that’s never really shown any consistent success in his career is a real leap of faith in my estimation. I hope I’m wrong.

While it looks nice on paper now with the Cavs currently winning, I still question Bickerstaff’s approach and how much this supposed “new culture of winning” is because of Bickerstaff or more because these young, talented basketball players are improving their game naturally and playing for each other more than just the coach making that happen.