John Beilein didn’t work as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it sounds like Kevin Love did him no favors.
Beilein officially resigned during the week after going 14-40 as the Cavs’ head coach, and he was replaced by JB Bickerstaff. Beilein had issues with some of the players, and there were complaints about Beilein running things like a college program.
At first, much of the criticism about Beilein’s tenure was aimed at the coach, but on Thursday, Charles Barkley said the players were to blame. Barkley is not the only one hinting at that.
During Thursday’s edition of the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, Windhorst and co-host Tim MacMahon talked about how Love seemed to undermine the hiring.
Windhorst said Love showed up for training camp at effectively the last minute. MacMahon also talked about how Love was against Beilein.
“Kevin Love did everything but rent a billboard saying Beilein sucks,” MacMahon said. “There was zero percent chance of Beilein, and it wasn’t gonna work regardless, but with Kevin Love around that was gonna be a complete disaster. Because he was gonna make it clear how much he thought this coach was over his head, and he was gonna be right.”
Whether Love was against the Beilein hire or not, it was clear this season that Love had issues with the Cavs. Love screamed at the team’s GM in early January and was seen getting upset with another player. Love exhibited poor leadership, which likely contributed to both the team’s poor record and Beilein’s difficulties connecting with the players.
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