Bickerstaff has landed on his feet.
J.B. Bickerstaff, the former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, has a new position. And he isn’t going far.
As initially reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Bickerstaff has been hired as the Detroit Pistons’ new coach. This will be Bickerstaff’s fourth head coaching position, following Cleveland, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Houston Rockets.
ESPN Sources: The Detroit Pistons are hiring J.B. Bickerstaff as the franchise’s next coach. Bickerstaff comes to the Pistons after consecutive trips to playoffs with Cavaliers —- including the Eastern Conference semifinals. pic.twitter.com/ZlX0CZIH6C
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2024
After taking over for John Beilein, Bickerstaff led the Cavs to a 329-170 record in five seasons. He was fired after Cleveland fell to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals this spring.
Bickerstaff is an intriguing addition to the Pistons. The Pistons, according to Woj, “are prioritizing the use of their salary cap space to take on veteran contracts that will be paired with future draft picks.” They have a lot of youthful talent to develop, including Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, and newcomer Ron Holland.
Player development was not Bickersaff’s strong suit in Cleveland, nor was it the organization’s overall strength. Bickerstaff feels more like Monty Williams (who the Pistons recently fired, costing them a lot of money) than Detroit’s attempt to emulate Utah’s Will Hardy or Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault.
That being said, Bickerstaff was instrumental in transforming the Cavs from a terrible team when he first arrived to a playoff-bound team by the end of his stay. If he can do something similar with the Pistons, this is a sound hire. And he’ll be in Cleveland again this season with Detroit, so he’ll be back on the opposing sideline at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse soon.
