Saturday Slam: The Cleveland Cavaliers are a mess after letting John Beilein go

(Credit: Tony Dejak/Associated Press) 

The big news story of the week in the NBA is the Cleveland Cavaliers parting ways with their head coach John Beilein, who didn't even get a chance to finish year one of his contract. The official report is that Beilein resigned and is being given a new role in the organization. J.B. Bickerstaff has been promoted from assistant coach to head coach. Just so we're clear on that. 

The Beilein era didn't go as the Cavaliers hoped. They went an abysmal 14-40 during his brief stint as head coach and all along the way there were reports of tension and frustration from both the players and Beilein. The nut of it is Beilein took an old-school college approach to the NBA and it backfired in his face. A lot of what players were complaining about is what you would expect a good basketball coach to do: Practice hard, watch a lot of film, etc. 

Unfortunately, that old-school approach works better in college where players aren't getting paid and are not yet in the NBA. Sadly, in the NBA you have a lot of players who act entitled and think they're better than they actually are. Charles Barkley sounded off on this below. 

Now don't get me wrong, NBA players are incredibly gifted athletes and basketball players. That's why they're there. However, that doesn't mean they don't still have to work hard and perfect their craft. It would be one thing if the Cavaliers had a bona fide superstar on their team. Someone who could mentor the younger players like Collin Sexton to make it clear that being in the NBA doesn't mean you stop watching film and practicing hard.

The players that have been complaining about Beilein (e.g. Andre Drummond who just got to Cleveland) haven't accomplished much in their careers in terms of team success. They're great individual talents, but they haven't figured out how to play as a team. That's where a good coach like Beilein is supposed to help.

Ultimately, what's happened in Cleveland rests on the shoulders of their front office. Namely general manager Koby Altman. You can't hire a coach and then not even have him complete his first year. That's embarrassing. You need to send a message to your players that they can't just blame their coach for all their problems. Their job is to play basketball and they need to treat it as such.

In the event that Beilein truly wasn't a good fit and not cut out for the NBA, that also is a bad look for management. If he was as much of a disaster as the players want us to think he was, then that means he was a bad hire and shouldn't have been offered a job in the first place. Given his track record at Michigan, I have a hard time believing he's as bad as they say he is. Even though the NBA game is different, it's still the same sport.

Going forward, the Cavaliers need to do some soul searching as an organization after the way this all went down. Their front office needs to seriously evaluate if they have the right players to right the ship and whether or not Bickerstaff is the man for the job. There are lots of questions that need to be asked by the Cavaliers and they're not easy questions to have to ask yourself. The Cavaliers are a mess right now and it's unclear how they'll get themselves out of it.

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Mock Draft Monday: Cavaliers players are frustrated by John Beilein's college style

                                          (Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports) 

This blog post may not seem related to the NBA draft or rookies, but it does involve a rookie head coach who is coming from the college ranks. In case you haven't heard the news, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Beilein is reportedly receiving backlash from his players. Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic have the details (Click here to check out the full article):

"Cavaliers players are bristling at new coach John Beilein because he’s treating this season like they, and he, are still in college, numerous sources told The Athletic.

It’s already gotten to the point where players are looking past Beilein to his lead assistant, J.B. Bickerstaff, for guidance, those sources said.

Grievances include his nitpicking over basic fundamentals, too much harping in lengthy film sessions, not enough versatility on offense, and a broader lack of understanding of the NBA game and opposing players."

The article includes quotes from multiple players, one of which says: "Our assistants are definitely more prepared for the NBA." That's a pretty scathing quote.

We've seen this movie before: Successful college coach seeks new challenge in the NBA. Gets fired. Ends up back in college, coaching at a lesser school. Anyone remember what happened to Rick Pitino?

I'm not saying John Beilein's decision to leave Michigan for the Cleveland Cavaliers will result in him getting fired and ending on the bench at say Winthrop, but what I am saying is there is a history of college coaches not able to find success in the NBA. What I want to unpack in this post is why is this such a common trend? I mean, basketball is basketball, right?

I think that line of thinking is actually the first problem that college coaches encounter. They think basketball is basketball and that when they get to the NBA, they can approach things the same way they did in college. What makes this line of thinking dangerous for college coaches is that while basketball is basketball, the NBA is a whole different brand of basketball. NBA players are the very best in the world and they demand to be treated as such.

In college, if your players start to act up, you can demand respect by reminding them that they're not in the NBA. You can play the whole "You're in college to get an education and prepare for the NBA" card.  In the NBA, there's no higher level that you can tell these players to strive towards. They've made it and as such feel entitled to being treated like multimillionaire superstars. Even if they're on a rookie contract.

Beilein seems naïve to this reality and is getting chewed up as a result. In college, your players have to respect you because you're their coach. In the NBA, it's the other way around. You have to respect the players because you've been given this amazing opportunity to coach them. They don't have to listen to you and quite honestly, they have better job security than you do. Especially if they're really good.

The bottom line, assuming these reports are correct, is that Beilein needs to wake up and realize that he's not in Kansas anymore. Coaching NBA players is possible, but you have to do so through the lens of letting them know that you know just how freaking gifted they are at basketball. I don't mean that in a sarcastic way. NBA players legitimately are ridiculously gifted. There's a reason they are where they are and other basketball players are not. If Beilein can start to make his players feel more valued and respected because of where they are, then he might start to find success. If instead he continues to harp on them and make them feel like they're in college, his NBA coaching days will end real quick.

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