Cavs' Koby Altman: 'Not Even a Question' J.B. Bickerstaff Will Return as Head Coach

The Cleveland Cavaliers disappointed in a five-game first-round playoff loss to the New York Knicks, but head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will have a chance to bounce back next season.

"End that speculation," president of basketball operations Koby Altman said when asked if the coach would return, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

"Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. There's no question about that. Look at what he has accomplished. I have not heard that stuff. Maybe because I haven't been reading or been on Twitter. I have not heard that noise. That's not even a question."

Cleveland promoted Bickerstaff to head coach during the 2019-20 season after it fired John Beilein, and things got off to a rocky start.

After going 5-6 under the new coach to finish a disappointing 2019-20 campaign, the Cavaliers were an ugly 22-50 in 2020-21. There wasn't much reason for significant optimism going into 2021-22, but things started to trend in an ideal direction.

Cleveland went 44-38 and reached the play-in tournament, although it lost to the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks and didn't make it into the postseason. However, it added Donovan Mitchell this past offseason and established itself as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

Bickerstaff's club went 51-31 and earned home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. What's more, the Cavaliers finished the campaign with the league's top-ranked defense, per NBA.com.

"J.B. has been through this rebuild from the ground up and he's done a phenomenal job instilling a culture here of accountability and hard work," Altman said. "You can't fluke your way into 51 wins and you can't fluke your way into the No. 1 defensive rating in the NBA. That's coaching."

While the front office seems pleased with Bickerstaff, there were some questions about how he handled the first-round loss to the Knicks.

New York not only neutralized the two-bigs strategy with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, it exploited it and still managed to enjoy an advantage on the glass. Mitchell Robinson was better than both of them, and the poor play from the frontcourt proved a key part in Cleveland's undoing.

Yet Bickerstaff played Allen 36 minutes and Mobley 39 minutes in the Game 5 loss and didn't seem to make many adjustments as the series continued.

He will likely be under more pressure with elevated expectations in 2023-24, but the head coach can at least take solace knowing his job is secure for now.