John Beilein Hired By Cavaliers To Be A 'Cultural Driver'
After building Michigan into one of the top programs in the Big Ten, John Beilein is hitting the reset button with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Beilein is leaving an established winner for a team coming off a 19-63 campaign. Turning around the Cavaliers is going to be an uphill climb for Beilein, and it got even harder Tuesday when the team slid to the No. 5 pick in the NBA Draft after the lottery.
Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman likes what Beilein brings to the table.
“I think wherever we would have landed, you still have to be patient,” Altman told reporters Tuesday at the lottery. “It’s also why we hired Coach Beilein to put things in place that we need foundation wise. [He’s going] to be a cultural driver for us, to be a teacher. So, no matter who we get, we’re going to need that influence.”
Beilein is being tasked with changing the culture of the Cavaliers which has been unsteady since Lebron James left for the Lakers. After winning 278 games over the course of his 12 years at Michigan, Beilein’s exit would always be difficult.
“There’s never a good time to leave,” Beilein told reporters after the lottery. “You can make a couple choices. You can leave too early maybe, or you can leave too late. You never know when to leave. I think this was an opportunity that has so much potential it was too difficult to pass up. It was the right thing to do.”
The timing for Beilein was never going to be perfect, but he reached out to a few people in the league to discuss his move.
“I have quite a few contacts in the NBA, head coaches that I know fairly well, and they all reached out and said you’re going to love it,” Beilein said. “Brad Stevens said the NBA just got better today. It’s just really complimentary things.”
The 66-year old head coach hasn’t made this significant of a transition in decades. He’s leaving college basketball for the first time since 1978. In addition to the jump from college, he’s already the third-oldest coach in the NBA.
“I think the adjustment is I’m going to have to learn quickly,” Beilein said. “I’m going to have to really learn the NBA language and obviously begin this relationship with these players, build this culture that is rock solid."
Beilein can help Altman with the upcoming NBA Draft process because he has a good amount of familiarity coaching against some of the prospects and seeing them up close.
“He’s got to be able to make phone calls to head coaches and get immediate respect and the knowledge that we need to make some of those decisions. So, we’re fortunate and we’re going to use him as an asset in this process.”
The Cavaliers saw Beilein as someone to help shepherd the changing of the team’s culture. He was among a large contingent of candidates for the position, but he rose to the top of that crop of coaches.
Beilein is just excited to get started.
“Where we are today is the best thing to talk about right now,” Beilein said. “This is really great to be a part of this.”
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