The Cleveland Cavaliers are talking with Larry Drew about their interim head coaching job, but Drew will not be making things easy for them, according to a report.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says that Drew is willing to serve as a temporary bridge but won’t commit to the rest of the season without an agreement beyond the season.
Larry Drew is willing to bridge the immediate coaching transition with Cavaliers, but so far is reluctant to commit to rest of season without an agreement of some kind that extends beyond 2018-19, league sources tell ESPN. Those talks are ongoing with Cleveland.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2018
Drew appears to be trying to leverage the current situation to his benefit.
At the least, the Cavaliers are looking to make Drew the temporary head coaching voice of the team.
Cavs practicing soon — with GM Koby Altman expected to tell players that Larry Drew is the team's voice today. Altman and Dan Gilbert wants Drew to accept interim coaching job — with possibility of a longer-term appointment later. Drew is hoping for a longer commitment now.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 28, 2018
The Cavaliers fired head coach Tyronn Lue on Sunday after an 0-6 start. They also parted ways with assistant coach Damon Jones. Now that they no longer have LeBron James, the Cavs are in bad shape and are an undesirable team for a coach.
Drew, 60, was a longtime NBA player before going into coaching in 1992 as an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers — the last team for whom he played. He has four seasons of NBA head coaching experience spent with two franchises, compiling a career .458 winning percentage.
