Cavs President Koby Altman To Meet With Reporters On Friday

May 22, 2024

With rumors around the Cavaliers swirling, president of basketball operations Koby Altman is scheduled to meet with the Cleveland media on Friday, Hoops Wire has learned.

As of this writing, the Cavs have yet to announce any decision on coach J.B. Bickerstaff — nor should they, given that Bickerstaff is still under contract. So no announcement is necessary unless the Cavs decide not to bring back Bickertsaff.

For the record, Altman will be holding the press conference alone, after returning from a scouting trip in Los Angeles. He was in Chicago for the NBA Combine before that.

As for Bickerstaff, the Cavs reportedly held meetings Monday and Tuesday of this week, in which Bickertaff was involved.

The Cavs are said to be weighing whether to bring back Bickerstaff, with no decision reached as of Wednesday afternoon. Or if a decision had been reached, there was no announcement.

One league source told Hoops Wire that the Cavs intend to part ways with Bickerstaff, though several other sources denied the team had reached a decision.

“I expect a resolution one way or another shortly, imminently, I don’t know about the next day but certainly soon,” NBA insider Brian Windhorst said on ESPN Cleveland.

A report from The Athletic last week stated that Bickerstaff’s future with the franchise is “in serious jeopardy.”

“League sources briefed on the Cavaliers’ mindset told The Athletic that Bickerstaff’s job is in serious jeopardy after five and a half years as head coach, following the team’s season-ending loss in Game 5 of the second round to the Celtics,” wrote The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd. “Two league sources said the team is likely to take some time — multiple days — to make a decision. … Multiple league sources have said, for months, that Donovan 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.”

The Cavaliers almost fired Bickerstaff during the regular season, sources told Hoops Wire. Bickerstaff is 170-159 in the regular season and 6-11 in the playoffs with Cleveland.