The Cleveland Cavaliers parted ways with head coach Larry Drew shortly after the 2018-19 season came to a close.
Now, the franchise is ramping up its search for his replacement to fill the coaching void. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, the Cavaliers plan to set up an interview with former Memphis Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff for next week.
Now, sources told The Athletic, the Cavs and Bickerstaff are working to set up an interview for next week.
Bickerstaff, 40, would be the first candidate with previous NBA head-coaching experience to interview with Cleveland. But he fits an emerging profile of the Cavs' coaching search in a number of ways, including his ties to the organization.
Bickerstaff was fired by the Grizzlies following the season after nearly two seasons with the team.
During his time in Memphis, Bickerstaff put together a 48-97 record as the team's head coach. The Grizzlies are coming off a 33-49 campaign and dealt center Marc Gasol to the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline. Bickerstaff had replaced David Fizdale, who was fired by the team during the 2017-18 campaign.
The Grizzlies failed to make the playoffs in their two seasons under Bickerstaff. It also marked the first time they missed the cut in back-to-back seasons since a four-year postseason drought, from 2006-07 to the 2009-10 campaign.
The Cavaliers got rid of Tyronn Lue after just six games last season and Drew served as the head coach for the remainder of the year. Cleveland finished with a 19-63 record and hold great odds at landing a top five pick in the 2019 NBA Draft in June.
Cleveland has also set its sights on a pair of Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches in Nate Tibbetts and David Vanterpool. Tibbetts has prior history with the Cavaliers organization as he was an assistant coach for the team under Byron Scott from 2011 to 2013. The former Cleveland assistant coach then left the franchise to become an assistant coach with the Trail Blazers under head coach Terry Stotts.
