Cavaliers rumors: Cavs could copy Warriors and fire their coach

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J.B. Bickerstaff, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images /

NBA history suggests the Cavaliers will fire Bickerstaff

J.B. Bickerstaff is not Mark Jackson, and firing him might not mean winning an NBA championship. Sometimes coaches oversee the growth of a young team and get to stick with them for the title; Gregg Popovich comes to mind, or Doc Rivers in Boston. More often, however, there is a coaching change involved.

Here’s a list of the last 8 NBA champions and whether they changed their coach after becoming a playoff team but before winning a title:

2015, ’17, ’18, ’22 Golden State Warriors: Steve Kerr replaced Mark Jackson
2016 Cleveland Cavaliers: Ty Lue replaced David Blatt (who replaced Mike Brown)
2019 Toronto Raptors: Nick Nurse replaced Dwayne Casey
2020 Los Angeles Lakers: Frank Vogel replaced Luke Walton
2021 Milwaukee Bucks: Mike Budenholzer replaced Jason Kidd

It’s a pattern that stretches back all the way to the Chicago Bulls firing Doug Collins and hiring Phil Jackson, or the Los Angeles Lakers replacing Joe Mullaney with Bill Sharman all the way back in 1972-73. The coach who oversees the growth of a team isn’t always the best pick to help them reach their ceiling.

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J.B. Bickerstaff isn’t on the hot seat right now. The Cavaliers are playing extremely well, they are young and under contract, and he will most likely get another shot next season. A poor end to the season, however, with a shaky experience in the NBA Playoffs, and the front office could be looking to their rivals in the Bay Area and considering a change.