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Cleveland Cavaliers: The 5 best potential head coaches available

By Ryan Piers

SAN ANTONI TX - October 8: Ettore Messina looks on during practice at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Mark Sobhani/NBAE via Getty Images)
SAN ANTONI TX - October 8: Ettore Messina looks on during practice at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Mark Sobhani/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(Photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /

4. Nate Tibbetts

Nate Tibbetts’ resume compares to that of Jensen. The 41-year-old joined Cleveland shortly after LeBron James left for the first time. Still in his early 30s, Tibbetts was an assistant coach for the Cavs from 2011-13 before joining the Portland Trail Blazers’ staff.

Like Jensen, he cut his teeth in the Cavs’ system before helping a young, Western Conference squad blossom into a perennial contender. Tibbetts, however, actually spent time in the Cavaliers’ locker room. Jensen only coached in the (at the time) D-League.

So Tibbetts gets the edge over Jensen as a young, seemingly smart basketball mind hoping to earn his first opportunity as a head coach. He’s familiar with the franchise, although much has changed over the past six years. He clearly speaks the language of the point guard, helping develop Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. So he’d probably jell with Cleveland’s cornerstone piece, Collin Sexton.

What could bump up Tibbetts from the No. 4 spot? Let’s say the Cavaliers draft Ja Morant, pairing him with Sexton. That would leave Cleveland with two premier guards 6’3″ or shorter, just like Portland. Tibbetts helped two score-first point guards who defied conventional wisdom by sharing the same backcourt mesh in Portland. That undersized combo became an offensive juggernaut. Maybe Tibbetts can work that same magic in Cleveland.

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