The young Cleveland Cavaliers will be lead by a first time coach in the NBA, 66-year old John Beilein. The deal is for five years. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first broke the news early Monday morning.
Michigan’s John Beilein has agreed to a five-year deal to become coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 13, 2019
Beilein spent the last 12 seasons as the head coach at the University of Michigan. He guided the Wolverines to four Big Ten championships and two trips to the Final Four.
Thanks to everyone at the Univ of Michigan for their incredible support these last 12 years. Our fans , alums , leaders, players and students are AMAZING It has been a heck of a ride and I hope you enjoyed our teams and staff as much as I did !Go Blue Forever ! #GoBlue
— John Beilein (@JohnBeilein) May 13, 2019
Before walking the the sidelines in Ann Arbor, Beilein was the head coach at West Virginia. One of the players he coached in Morgantown is Mike Gansey, the Cavaliers assistant general manager under Koby Altman.
“We conducted a deep and thorough search to find the best possible candidate for the next head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers,” said Altman. “Following the end of those interviews, it became clear to us that Coach Beilein was the right choice and best fit for our franchise. John is one of the most accomplished and innovative basketball minds and leaders in the entire game. He has a unique ability to create an outstanding culture that will promote the development of young players and provide a solid structure to the entire program; not to mention the fact that John Beilein wins everywhere he goes. So we are excited Coach Beilein is joining our organization as we continue to build the foundation that any enterprise needs to be successful and competitive year in and year out.”
Beilein replaces Larry Drew who served as interim head coach for the final 76 games last season. Drew replaced Tyronn Lue, who was fired following an 0-6 start last season.
Scott Piker is the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage.com. So follow him on twitter @ScottPikerSport
