CLEVELAND (AP) J.B. Bickerstaff’s impressive start with the Cavaliers has been rewarded.
Bickerstaff, who has Cleveland playing its best basketball this season since taking over when John Beilein suddenly resigned last month, has agreed to a multi-year contract with the team, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The Cavs were expected to announce the deal before their game Tuesday night in Chicago, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract terms have not been finalized.
Bickerstaff was promoted after Beilein stepped down after 54 games in his first season. He had been serving as an associate head coach under the 67-year-old Beilein, who cited personal health issues as one of his reasons for leaving a job he thought he was ready to handle.
Under Bickerstaff, the Cavs are 5-5 going into Tuesday’s game against the Bulls and they’ve showed more energy and togetherness than at any time under Beilein.
Over the weekend, the Cavs won consecutive tight games over Denver and San Antonio. Earlier this season, the club’s inexperience would cripple the Cavs in the closing minutes of games.
Bickerstaff previously coached in Houston and Memphis before coming to Cleveland. He led the Rockets to the playoffs in 2015-16.
He was always seen as the eventual successor to Beilein, but Bickerstaff never expected things to move so quickly. Bickerstaff was never given the ”interim” tag when he replaced Beilein, a sign that the Cavs were comfortable with the plan general manager Koby Altman hatched when he interviewed Bickerstaff last summer.
Cleveland’s players seem more relaxed under Bickerstaff, whose father, Bernie, was a longtime NBA coach and currently advises for the Cavs. The younger Bickerstaff worked in the past with Cavs star forward Kevin Love, who has played well lately.
Following Sunday’s win over the Spurs, Bickerstaff said the Cavs are bonding and making the most of a season once spiraling downward.
”They just keep pulling for one another and they celebrate other people’s success,” Bickerstaff said. ”I think that’s a core value of a good team. That’s where we’re building. It’s fun to watch how they treat each other, how they respect one another. When a guy’s got it going, they’re willing to give up the ball and give themselves up for that guy. It’s part of the environment we’re trying to create.
”There’s a camaraderie, there’s a bond, there’s a common goal of the way that we’re playing. No one person is bigger than the team. You can see by different nights who contributes, there’s no pouting if it’s not your night. It’s all about the team. I think that’s the biggest difference.”
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