Koby Altman wants a 'new approach' as Cleveland Cavaliers start head coach search

INDEPENDENCE — The Cavaliers can't point to any one thing J.B. Bickerstaff did — or didn't do — while he led the team as head coach for a little more than four full seasons as the reason he was dismissed Thursday.

But as the franchise's aspirations continue to be lofty, and the roster talented enough to be a contender in the East, the Cavs were ready for a new voice to lead them into the 2024-25 season and beyond.

Bickerstaff was let go roughly a week after the Cavs' conference semifinals exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics. In four-plus years as the team's coach, Bickerstaff led it out of a rebuild and into a contender, which included the first playoff series win since 2018 — and the first without LeBron James on the roster in more than three decades.

Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman, who now bears the pressure of finding a successor, spoke for nearly 40 minutes at the team's practice facility Friday afternoon and discussed a wide range of topics, among them Bickerstaff's tenure in Cleveland, the upcoming search for the next coach, Donovan Mitchell's status and future with the organization and that Jarrett Allen actually had a broken rib.

Altman thanked Bickerstaff for his contributions to the franchise on and off the court.

"[It was a] tremendously difficult decision," Altman said of letting Bickerstaff go. "Not going to go into any shortcomings or negatives about J.B. It's not something that he did specifically. I think for us, it's with this group, finding someone with a new approach, someone with a different voice, a fresh set of eyes to help us move forward. We've accomplished a lot in the last few years, getting to a conference semifinals, and we don't want to be complacent."

Altman said several players in exit interviews after the loss to the Celtics indicated they feel the team is close to where it needs to be to really challenge for a title.

"We feel we're not far off," Altman said. "And it's not one singular thing J.B. did wrong. It's how do we continue to move this thing forward?"

Cavaliers encouraged that Donovan Mitchell could sign long-term contract extension, provide feedback in coaching search

Altman said the focus of the last week was divided between deciding on Bickerstaff's future and the team's involvement in workouts connected to the upcoming NBA Draft, in which Cleveland has the 20th overall selection. On Tuesday, they'll sit down and really begin to dive into the coaching search and compile a list of initial candidates.

Mitchell's future is the biggest factor in anything the Cavs do as they head into the offseason. Mitchell is technically under contract for two more seasons, but the final year is a player option. That means after the 2024-25 season Mitchell could opt out of the final year of his deal and simply walk into free agency.

If the Cavs don't have confidence he'll sign a long-term extension — which could be in the neighborhood of four years and more than $200 million — they'd likely be forced to trade Mitchell this summer.

"I'll say that my exit interview with him was really good in that he was talking about the future and how excited he was about the team, the organization," Altman said of Mitchell. "This is a player that has had two of the best years of his career here, has had a lot of success here, understands the infrastructure, I think has a lot of trust in what we're doing and understands that our goal is to win a championship."

It would stand to reason that if the Cavs want to increase their odds of re-signing Mitchell long term, and keeping the core of the roster in place, hiring a coach who is best suited to not only his style, but that of the entire team, would help those chances.

That is what this coaching search will allow the Cavs to do, assuming the core of Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley remain together. And that is possibly what Altman means by saying Bickerstaff didn't necessarily do anything to warrant being dismissed. The Cavs might just need to find the best possible fit, and Mitchell could be a central factor in all of that.

"Last summer he had a lot of influence in terms of how much he helped us recruit free agents to be here," Altman said. "He's a highly intelligent basketball junkie, so I would love to have some of his input in terms fo what we want to do into the future and, yeah, would absolutely love his feedback and how we continue to build this thing. … That conversation will come for sure."

Cavaliers don't foresee any 'sweeping changes' with roster heading into offseason

It's possible the Cavs end up being pushed into making some major alterations to the roster. But, as it stands now, they don't feel the need for any seismic changes to the roster itself.

Questions have been raised from outside the organization about how well Mitchell and Garland can work together, or how Mobley and Allen can be on the floor together in today's NBA landscape.

Altman dismissed those concerns, pointing to the team's analytical data that supports both pairs being the floor at the same time. Injuries just got in the way. The original starting five played only 28 games together, and the Cavs went 18-10 in those games.

"I think that's overblown," Altman said, specifically speaking to the idea that Mitchell and Garland can't play side by side. "I think there's way more data that speaks to it works than it doesn't. … Everyone wants to throw out the first year together when Darius actually had one of the best years of his career … and that was with Donovan."

The Cavaliers are looking for a fresh voice to lead the team on the bench. But, as for the roster, Altman doesn't see the need to move mountains (assuming Mitchell doesn't force them too, of course).

"I don't see why we should," Altman said. "The fit of Evan Mobley-Jarrett Allen, that fit actually has a higher net rating than our guards. … I know people want to talk about the fit. I push back on that in terms of just the net ratings, but I also want to talk about the depth of talent here.

"I don't see big, major, sweeping changes. I just don't. … You can't win 99 games over the regular season, make it the conference semis and be, like, 'This doesn't work.'"

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavaliers begin coach search after firing J.B. Bickerstaff