The Cleveland Cavaliers are fresh off of winning the NBA championship in June. A side-effect of that success is needing to pay huge sums of money to keep the roster together.
The Cavs’ have re-signed LeBron James (duh) and will almost certainly do the same with J.R. Smith. Additionally, they shelled out a long-term extension for head coach Tyronn Lue.
But when it comes to the rest of the coaching staff, Cleveland’s management has been a lot more stingy. According to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, four Cavs’ assistant coaches have not had their contracts renewed since the beginning of the new league year on July 1st. Additionally, newly promoted associate head coach Larry Drew has not yet received the raise that was supposed to accompany his promotion.
According to Haynes, contract negotiations between the parties have reached the “point of hostility.” Lue will certainly want his coaching staff to remain intact after they helped him win the title in his first half-season as a head coach.
The Cavs have their work cut out for them if they want to repeat as champions. The Warriors have revamped their roster and will be looking to regain the crown. Cleveland cannot have any extra hurdles to jump over in this path. It would behoove them to pay the coaching staff as soon as possible.
