The Cleveland Cavaliers and head coach John Beilein are expected to go their separate ways by early as Wednesday February 19th.
Once the initial report came out it was no longer a question of if, but when. John Beilein and the Cleveland Cavaliers will part ways per reports. Sam Amico states that it could be as early as Tuesday evening, but Wednesday is also a possibility.
Perhaps the roster construction could be to blame here. Ideally Cleveland could have moved on from some of their older players to give Beilein a young group in which to mold. The problem is that the Cavs kept Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, then proceeded to add Andre Drummond into the mix. These are all experienced veterans. Changing their habits and routine is not easy. With a young roster things could have been different. Beilein could have helped the likes of Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and Kevin Porter Jr. make the transition from college to the NBA. While Sexton does have one year of experience, he is still only 21 years old.
Beilien seems more comfortable in college basketball. Speaking of which, Sam Amico also added the following.
This certainly supports the claim that John Beilein and his style do not mesh well with the NBA. Beilein could very well be uncomfortable dealing with NBA players compared to their college counterparts. There is no real pushback from college players, this is not the case in the NBA.
A return to college basketball seems logical for someone who was one of the better NCAA coaches at the time of his hire in Cleveland. John Beilein coached 896 games in college from 1992-2019. With stops at Canisius, Richmond, West Virginia, and Michigan, Beilein has plenty of experience and a winning track record. Beilein will be heavily courted by college programs in search of a head coach.
At the end of the day, John Beilein is walking away from a multi-year deal worth millions of dollars which begs the following question. Just how bad are things for the Cleveland Cavaliers?
