It is the first year of John Beilein as the Cavs coach, and nobody expects anything from the team. Also, his coaching style is not something veteran players are accustomed to. Kevin Love wants a trade out of the group, and other players are frustrated with his college-style of coaching.
Last Wednesday might be the lowest point of his Cleveland coaching career. During a film session, he complimented his players as no longer playing like thugs. Beilein said it was just a slip of the tongue. What he meant was that they were slugs.
Beilein told Korea sports news outlets that he didn’t realize he used the word thugs. However, his staff told him later that he did. He explained that he meant that his players used to move slowly like slugs. They were not playing hard before, but now they are doing better.
Cavs Coach Gives an Explanation
Beilein said that he meant it as a compliment. Also, he already talked to some of his players, and they told him that they understand what he tried to say. Sports chat users learned that the coach gave an apology before their shootaround last Thursday.
Cavs general manager Koby Altman went to Detroit to meet with the coach and the players. The front office reiterated that there are no plans for replacing the coach. However, it is unclear if the team will discipline Beilein for the incident.
No matter what happens next, one thing is sure and that is he will not have the full trust of his players. According to people who bet on sports, management brought Beilein in to develop a young roster.
However, the young players in the roster are having a hard time adjusting to the big league. Although some teams might want to wait for results, Cleveland doesn’t have the history of being patient with underperforming personnel.