After the game, Cavs president Koby Altman walked into the coach’s office and admonished head coach J.B. Bickerstaff in front of his entire staff for playing Mitchell such heavy minutes, multiple sources briefed on the interaction told The Athletic. Descriptions of the incident spread across the organization, including the locker room.
“(Altman) got at J.B.,” one player said of the incident.
The immediate aftermath of that night was confusing. For instance, Altman was unaware at the time he was scolding Bickerstaff that the coach had asked Mitchell if he wanted to come out, according to league sources, and Mitchell declined. Yet, Mitchell was absent from the court for Cleveland’s next four games due to what the team called a non-COVID illness.
As it turned out, that singular saga from one night in December foreshadowed how the season would end for Bickerstaff. Key players out all over the place, and with him in danger of losing his job.
League sources briefed on the Cavaliers’ mindset told The Athletic that Bickerstaff’s job is in serious jeopardy after four and a half years as head coach, following the team’s season-ending loss in Game 5 of the second round to the Boston Celtics. Two league sources said the team is likely to take some time — multiple days — to make a decision. Bickerstaff, despite all the pressure he and members of the organization above and below him were under this season, has built equity with the front office and was at the helm for Cleveland’s first appearance in a conference semifinal since 2018. This spring marked the Cavs’ first playoff series win without LeBron James on the roster since 1993.
Doing better this season than last was paramount, and Bickerstaff succeeded there — Cleveland advanced past the first round with a Game 7 victory over the Orlando Magic. But the pressure on him all year (which boiled over in that one exchange with Altman in December) was always about more than simply winning.
In trying to do everything they can to persuade Mitchell to accept a four-year, $208.5 million contract extension this summer, the Cavs need their star player to feel comfortable with the long-term direction of the franchise, which includes the coach. Multiple league sources have said, for months, that Mitchell did not have great confidence in Bickerstaff, and he was not alone. Several players questioned Bickerstaff’s strategies, game management, practice habits and accountability measures, privately and publicly, throughout the season.
“No one has told me I’m not (the coach), so I’ll keep showing up until they tell me not to,” Bickerstaff said when asked about his job status after Wednesday’s loss.
He added: “We’ve continued to build this thing the right way. Every single year we’ve improved, continued to get better. Play-In, playoffs.”
Bickerstaff may take the fall for all of this, but there are issues in Cleveland to be worked out, beyond who is coaching the team. While three players — Mitchell, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen — were not on the court for Game 5 Wednesday due to injury, Allen missed his eighth consecutive game due to what the team said was a rib bruise. Allen’s extended absence, which stretched more than two weeks, caused frustration toward him in at least some corners of the organization with teammates and staff members who felt he could have done more to try and play.
There are also questions of fit on the roster to work through, such as whether Allen and Mobley, two non-shooting bigs, can co-exist in the same starting unit, and whether Garland can thrive playing alongside Mitchell as two smaller guards who need the ball.
Furthermore, rival executives believe the Cavs will have to seriously evaluate the fit of Mitchell and Garland and ultimately may have to choose one or the other. Should Mitchell decide to stay long term, sources briefed on the matter say Garland’s representation, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, would have a conversation with Cavs officials on potentially finding a new home for the one-time All-Star.
After an All-Star campaign in 2021-22 in which he averaged 21.7 points, 8.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds, Garland’s minutes, field goal and 3-point attempts and usage percentage have all dropped upon the arrival of Mitchell.
Donovan Mitchell is extension eligible this summer and has a player option for the 2025-26 season. (Thomas Shea / USA Today)
What lies ahead for roster?
The Mitchell situation will be resolved this summer, and there is a growing sentiment around the league that the Cavaliers will be able to position themselves to receive his commitment for a lucrative contract extension that would keep him in Cleveland past his 30th birthday. Teammates have described Mitchell this season as singularly focused on winning and wanting Cleveland to aim much higher than a first-round series victory for its measure of success.
