Larry Drew secures his safety, accepting a new agreement with the riders

Larry Drew has no longer to fear being the "voice" of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the interim coach or any other atypical distinction. He will simply be their head coach, the team announced Monday.

ESPN announced that the agreement between Drew and his head coach extended to the end of the season and included a partial guarantee for 2019-20.

"We are delighted to have reached this agreement with coach Drew to continue leading the team in the field," said Koby Altman, Cleveland's general manager, in a statement. "He brings important experience and many qualities that we hope to translate well with our team as a head coach."

Drew, who temporarily took over after Tyronn Lue was sacked by the Cavaliers on October 29, first contested the nomenclature of his role – a protest that largely concerned his desire to renegotiate his contract – but even with that faces the difficult task of getting the team back on track after LeBron James' departure via an independent agency. The team started 0-6 under Lue, leading to the dismissal of the championship coach, and a double under Drew in Monday's match against Orlando.

Drew, who cited the team's transition defense as his biggest weakness, told reporters before Monday's game that the ship's turnaround would take some time.

"Tonight's game, it's likely we'll make the same mistakes as in our last game," said Drew. "We will have to continue showing them on film, we will continue to practice and get through. It just will not happen overnight. "

The prolonged absence of Kevin Love, the most prominent player in the team after four years of the Eastern Conference championship, further complicates things. The love averaged 19 points, 13.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists to start the season, but he's been missing since he injured the Nets' toe on Oct. 24. The injury required surgery and will no longer be treated. -evaluated for a return for six additional weeks.

Drew, 60, has been working with the Cavaliers since 2014 as an assistant coach for two years – including the 2015-16 season team championship – before being promoted to associate head coach in 2016-17. He trained the team 8-1 in a medical absence from Lue last year and had previously been a head coach in Atlanta, where he coached the Hawks to a record of 128-102 in three. seasons, and in Milwaukee, where he had led Bucks to a 15-67 record in 2013-14.

Although Drew's continued promotion seems rather likely after Lue's dismissal, it had been a rather awkward arrangement so far. James, now with the Los Angeles Lakers, expressed dismay from afar, finding that Lue had not had enough leeway to attempt to rebuild the team. Drew also initially rejected the "interim" coaching label that the team had given him. At the time of the change, Drew was "very disappointed". The team had not yet restructured its contract and hoped to obtain guarantees before taking the reins of a reconstruction team.

Now that he has some security in the role, Drew, who played 10 years in the NBA. before moving to training for the 1992-93 season, is fortunate enough to join the team.

Love, for one, warmly approved the initial promotion after Lue's dismissal, noting that Drew did a great job leading the team when Lue came out last year.

"I love what L.D. does, says love. "I love his energy, his specificity in what he does, and he's been playing in this league for 37 years, so I'm excited for that."