The Cleveland Cavaliers have solved at least one of their many problems by signing assistant coach Larry Drew to a new agreement, making him their new head coach for the rest of the season.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Joe Vardon of The Athletic have more details on Drew agreeing to become the head coach.
Drew will be the head coach for rest of this season and has an agreement for 2019-20 if Cavs choose to keep him — or will get a buyout payment should team decide to move on to a new coach, sources said. https://t.co/Jseeh7U20U
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 5, 2018
By the way, Larry Drew is the head coach of the Cavs now, not the interim. This is my fifth year covering this team. Third coach
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) November 6, 2018
Drew’s new agreement comes with an option for the 2019-20 NBA season if the Cavs decide to stay with him next year. The new agreement also includes a buyout payment if the Cavs choose to part ways.
Drew has been coaching the team since Cleveland fired Ty Lue just over a week ago. At first, he was reluctant to be an interim coach, due to the scrutiny they face, Drew made that clear early on, according to Greg Joyce of the New Yor Post.
“Rebuilding is not an easy thing to do. It’s usually something that takes a little time. If it’s going to take some time, I’d like to be a part of it. I made the organization pretty aware of that. It’s not going to happen overnight, but I’m committed to helping out and doing what it takes to be a part of that. In order to be a part of that, I feel that it’s going to have to be something done with a little more security.”
Since Larry Drew has taken over, the Cavs have gone 1-4 with a single win against the Atlanta Hawks and a late loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
The 60-year-old coach has previously been the head coach for the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks. With the Hawks, Drew made the playoffs all three years he was there.
