Cavaliers make decision on head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s future

The Cleveland Cavaliers have shown significant improvement over the past few seasons, but they feel they can do better with a different head coach.

Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was informed on Thursday that he has been fired, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Bickerstaff finishes with a record of 170-159 in the regular season with Cleveland. He took over as interim head coach when John Beilein was fired in 2020 and was later named full-time coach.

The Cavaliers reached the playoffs last season under Bickerstaff for the first time since LeBron James left in 2018. They lost in the first round but made the postseason again this year, advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals and losing to the Boston Celtics in five games.

Even with the respectable results, there had been reports that Bickerstaff’s chances of returning to the Cavs for a sixth season were slim.

Firing the 45-year-old Bickerstaff could be just one of several big changes the Cavaliers plan to make this offseason. There has also been talk that they could look to make a major trade.