Cavaliers' Larry Drew Says He Isn't Interim HC, Says He's the 'Voice' of Team

Larry Drew does not want to be called the interim head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Drew stressed he is the "voice" of the Cavaliers but not the interim coach. He wants long-term security from the front office to be the actual head coach and doesn't want to simply accept an interim tag.

This comes after the Cavaliers announced he was the interim head coach after they fired Tyronn Lue following an 0-6 start to the 2018-19 season.

Drew's insistence on being known as the voice and not the interim coach echoes a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that said he was "reluctant" to fully commit to Cleveland without the assurances of a contract beyond this season.

It makes sense considering owner Dan Gilbert is not exactly known for giving coaches extended opportunities to prove themselves. Jason Lloyd of The Athletic noted the next head coach will be the team's fifth in the last seven years and seventh in the last 15 years.

Drew was previously an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, New Jersey Nets and Atlanta Hawks. He served as head coach for the Hawks for three seasons and the Milwaukee Bucks for another and accumulated a 143-169 record, which was dragged down considerably by a 15-67 effort in 2013-14 for the Bucks.

He has been an assistant with the Cavaliers since and surely understands the immediate prospects for the organization are not bright after LeBron James' departure.

It traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics prior to the 2017-18 season, and Kevin Love is dealing with a toe injury that ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Wojnarowski reported could keep him sidelined more than a month.

The Cavaliers appear on their way to the draft lottery, and Drew wants to make sure he will be given enough time to engineer a rebuilding process.