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The expected has now happened. As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, John Beilein is leaving as the Cavs’ head coach. J.B. Bickerstaff is being elevated in his place:
Story filed to ESPN: After a brief and tumultuous tenure, John Beilein is leaving as Cleveland's coach. Associate HC JB Bickerstaff will be elevated to head coach. Beilein's expected to say goodbye to staff and players on Wednesday upon team's return from All-Star Break.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 19, 2020
The team has not yet confirmed the news as of Tuesday night. Per Wojnarowski, Beilein will say goodbye to the team on Wednesday after everyone returns from the All-Star break. The Cavs’ next game is on Friday in Washington D.C. against the Wizards.
This was the expected move and, frankly, the one the Cavs had to make. Once reports broke Sunday night that Beilein was considering leaving, it’s just hard to see how he could have come back and even made it through the end of the season.
The big unknown here is Bickerstaff. He’s well liked by players and has been around the game for a long time. But he took some fire in Memphis for not running a modern offense and some weird roster decisions. That being said, the Grizzlies’ 2018-19 roster had a lot of turnover — something that won’t be the case with the Cavs the rest of the season.
Per ESPN, Bickerstaff is expected to run his first practice with the Cavs on Wednesday evening.