Nov 1, 2018; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers acting head coach Larry Drew reacts in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
At the very least, it appears the downtrodden Cleveland Cavaliers have their whole head coach thing figured out for the remainder of the season.
After firing Tyronn Lue just six games into the season, Cleveland had hoped to name assistant Larry Drew its interim coach. But Drew himself pushed back and wanted a guarantee beyond his $1 million salary for the 2018-19 season.
It led to a back and forth between the longtime assistant and the brass in Cleveland. Now, after coaching three games with the associate head coach title, Drew has signed a new contract with the Cavaliers.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, said deal includes a partial guarantee for next season. Should the Cavaliers look to go in another direction — say Alabama — Drew would receive a buyout.
It seems that both entities were able to back away from their corners and come to a some sort of a conclusion here.
A lot of this will likely depend on how Cleveland performs over the course of the season. At 1-8, it is currently the worst team in the Association.
Further futility will almost assuredly lead to owner Dan Gilbert and Co. looking outside the organization for a long-term fixture on the bench.
Update: Cleveland has made it official with a press release