Cleveland Cavaliers: Analyzing next step of rebuild with John Beilein gone

With John Beilein stepping down from his role as head coach, the Cleveland Cavaliers must determine the next step of their rebuild.

As reported by The Athletic, John Beilein will be sacrificing the rest of his four-year contract to part ways with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The rookie head coach no longer felt invested, leaving the franchise to promote assistant J.B Bickerstaff for at least the remainder of the season.

Beilein coached the Cavaliers to a 14-40 record and was often criticized for his inexperience in the league. Earlier in the season, The Atheltic also reported that the Cavaliers players were frustrated with Beilein’s college coaching style.

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Rumblings that Beilein had lost control of the team have built up and though it is a massive surprise to see him forfeit nearly $12 million dollars by walking away, it was no secret that Beilein was unsatisfied with his job.

With 28 games left in the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers still have plenty of time to piece some things together before the summer. A pivotal NBA Draft is approaching for this rebuilding franchise and some serious questions need to be answered in the next few months.

Firstly, who are the Cavaliers building around? Does the franchise feel confident in their young backcourt duo of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland?

The two guards have shown skill offensively but are massively lacking on defense and struggle to create shots for their teammates. It’s hard to imagine the Cavaliers can successfully place their faith on the back of their undersized backcourt.

If the Cavaliers have found a cornerstone yet, it would likely be Kevin Porter Jr. The 19-year old wing has been efficient in limited spurts, bringing excitement to every game he plays in. Averaging 16.1 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the 3-point line in his last seven games has Porter on the verge of entering the starting lineup.

Should Porter become a starter, it’s likely one of Sexton or Garland will take a backseat on the bench. This could be a good thing moving forward and gives the Cavaliers a more solid foundation to build on.

Looking ahead to the end of the season and the 2020 NBA Draft, the Cavaliers need to decide what they want their identity to be. It seems that speed and versatility should become a priority as this plays to their young core’s biggest strengths.

Sexton is one of the league leaders in transition points per game and easily one of the fasted players in the association. Meanwhile, Porter is an explosive athlete and Garland is a crafty decision-maker on the break.

Despite this, the Cavaliers rank 21st in pace and their guards all hover around the middle of the league for distance traveled and average speed each game. This shows a severe lack of awareness in the coaching staff and has limited the Cavaliers from playing to their best attributes.

Increasing the tempo and encouraging the Cavaliers to run in transition should be Bickerstaff’s first goal as a coach. Then, the front office needs to draft a player that can help take things to the next level.

The first player that comes to mind is LaMelo Ball. The youngest of the infamous Ball brothers averaged 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game in the NBL on his way to winning the Rookie of the Year Award.

Ball is the definition of versatile with his 6’8″ frame and wide array of talents. Fitting Ball into the Cavaliers lineup and giving him complete control of the offense would be a treat to watch as he is a gifted passer with unlimited creativity.

Another player that could benefit the Cavaliers is Anthony Edwards. He is a bulky guard with a bulldog attitude and is already thriving as a brute force athlete for Georgia. Edwards is putting up 19.0 points and 5.3 rebounds a game as a Freshman.

Now that the Cavaliers have a strong frontcourt lineup of Kevin Love, Andre Drummond, Larry Nance Jr. and Tristan Thompson, they should stray far away from drafting James Wiseman. The rim-protecting big man has promise but is limited offensively and not needed for the Cavaliers anymore.

Instead, the Cavaliers should work on increasing Nance’s role with the team. Nance is averaging 14.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists on 56.4 percent shooting in his last 11 games. Nance has secured a longterm place on the team and should see his role increased.

In order to do this, the Cleveland Cavaliers will likely have to let go of Thompson and possibly work on trading Love. Cleaning out the roster to acquire more assets is the best move for the team and the duo of Nance/Drummond is enough to keep the frontcourt looking good.

It’s time for the Cleveland Cavaliers to buckle down and begin forming their identity. As of now, this team needs to work on becoming a force in transition by adjusting their style and rounding out their lineup.