The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached an agreement with head coach John Beilein to release him from his contract as head coach of the team, ending a tumultuous and short tenure for the former University of Michigan coach in the NBA.
Beilein and the Cavs both wanted to find a way to get the 67-year-old coach out of the five-year contract he signed last summer, as both the team and the coach saw that he was unable to connect with professional players and succeed as a leader of the team.
The New York native had trouble establishing authority and finding the correct coaching style in the NBA. Coming from college basketball, an environment in which coaches have more control over their players, Beilein reportedly found it difficult to loosen up his authoritative nature while dealing with professional players.
Players have accused Beilein of treating them “like a dictator” and “like children” during his tenure as head coach, according to team sources.
This, in combination with the Cavaliers’ last-place standing in the NBA’s Eastern Conference at 14-40, made the situation in Cleveland unsustainable.
Assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff, formerly the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and one of Beilein’s former assistants, will take over as interim head coach.
