John Beilein Ditching Michigan for Mediocre Cavs Job is a Massive Career Mistake
By Michael Luciano
After running through both Ty Lue and Larry Drew in their first season of the post-LeBron era 2.0, the Cleveland Cavaliers went outside of the box with their next hire, signing 66-year-old Michigan head coach John Beilein to a five-year contract.
This will be Beilein's first NBA head coaching job.
Breaking: University of Michigan coach John Beilein has agreed to a 5-year contract to become the Cleveland Cavaliers coach, league sources tell @wojespn . pic.twitter.com/aSC23CbeNB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 13, 2019
While Beilein is great at building a culture and has stood out with Xs and Os during his time in Ann Arbor, it doesn't make a ton of sense why he left Michigan for the NBA equivalent of purgatory that is the Cavaliers without LeBron.
Beilein, in his advanced age, will be expected to win now and will be given a short leash by impulsive owner Dan Gilbert, who canned a champion in Lue after just six games. He's also heading to a team with a second-year point guard, no clear-cut second option, and one of the worst defensive teams.
Beilein's Michigan teams prided themselves on veteran play, defense, and depth. The Cavs have none of that. This job will require patience, which Gilbert has none of.
My normal skepticism about college coaches coming to the NBA is tempered in this case. John Beilein is such a quality person and so grounded that, if he delegates some of the work to his assistants, and if Dan Gilbert can somehow remain patient (I know), this could work.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) May 13, 2019
Beilein's legacy as a great college coach is already secure. His NBA career can go one of two ways. He could either become a Larry Brown or Brad Stevens if he works, or he could go the way of Jerry Tarkanian and Rick Pitino as he flames out.