[ad_1]
-
Adrian WojnarowskiESPN
University of Michigan coach John Beilein has accepted a five-year contract to become the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN told sources close to the league.
Beilein reached an agreement with the Cavaliers on Sunday and informed the Michigan administration of its decision to leave for the NBA on Monday morning, sources said.
The Cavaliers used the term "crop engine" internally to discuss the possibility of hiring Beilein, sources said. He is considered one of the offensive tactics and elite basketball teachers, a coach who has never been an assistant and who has climbed all levels of basketball – coaching schools High school, Junior University, Division III, II and I. The last stage of an odyssey this earned him a college record 829-468 as being the NBA, and now Beilein is making the jump.
He led Michigan to two Final Fours and four Big Ten and regular season tournament titles during his 12-year run at Ann Arbor.
Beilein, 66, has been thinking for years at the NBA and has had extensive discussions with two franchises – the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons – last year before deciding to return to Michigan.
Beilein did not want to move himself and his wife away from Michigan, and the Pistons playoff roster with little financial leeway to make the changes less appealing. Cleveland's rebuilding status, based on leader Collin Sexton and a 14-percent chance with New York and Phoenix to win the NBA's No. 1 Tuesday's lottery choice, appealed to Beilein.
He is expected to join the Cavs front office and become the Chicago owner of the lottery project and combine it this week.
Beilein replaces Larry Drew, who finished last season after Tyronn Lue was sacked six times in the campaign. Lue won a title with the team in 2016, but LeBron James went on offense before last season, resulting in accelerated rebuilding.
Cleveland's general manager, Koby Altman, had long been intrigued by Beilein, and his GM assistant, Mike Gansey, had a close relationship and track record with Beilein. Gansey played under Beilein's orders in West Virginia, moving to Elite Eight with him as a mountaineer. Owner Dan Gilbert lives and works in Detroit and, despite his loyalty to the state of Michigan, has long admired Beilein's work. Beilein was reassured – and even encouraged – by the fact that the franchise asked him to install his value system at the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers' talks went hand-in-hand with the franchise's research, which resulted in four first-round talks Saturday in Denver, sources said.
The Cavaliers' plan encompasses Beilein with an experienced staff of NBA assistants, sources said.
Beilein led model programs in college without scandal or impropriety. In recent years, he has become increasingly frustrated by the nature of recruiting in college basketball and the retention of the best players. The imminent loss of the first year of Michigan Ignas Brazdeikis with senior Charles Matthews and sophomore Jordan Poole as NBA coach ruined what could have been a contender at the national championship.
Beilein's son, Patrick, was recently hired as a coach at Niagara University, about three and a half hours drive from Cleveland.
[ad_2]
Source link