Cavs Rumors: Larry Drew, Front Office in 'Peculiar Stalemate' over New Contract
The Cleveland Cavaliers and acting head coach Larry Drew are mired in a unique contract dispute.
According to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst and Adrian Wojnarowski, the sides could be headed for a "peculiar stalemate" given Drew's desire to have his contract adjusted for serving as the interim head coach following Tyronn Lue's firing this week.
Drew commented on the situation Tuesday, saying: "There are no updates, which I'm very disappointed about. I'm going to be professional and I'm going to do my job. It's been close to 72 hours."
Cleveland won its first game of the season Tuesday when it beat the Atlanta Hawks 136-114 with Drew at the helm.
Windhorst and Wojnarowski noted Drew is one of the NBA's highest-paid assistants at $1 million per season, and his contract is set to expire at the conclusion of the 2018-19 campaign.
Drew noted that while he won't walk out on the team, he hopes he and the Cavaliers can reach an agreement:
"We're actually kind of just weighing our options on [it not working out]. I really hope that we can get something resolved, but moving forward, I know there is a possibility that it may not be resolved.
"I would never quit. I won't do that. As I said, I remain professional and will continue to do my job. I was told that there could be a possibility of them just bringing in somebody else to finish out the year and then I can move back into my original position as an associate head coach."
The 60-year-old Drew has been on Cleveland's staff since 2014-15, and he helped lead the Cavs to their first NBA title in 2015-16.
Last season, Drew filled in for Lue during a medical absence and posted an 8-1 record as the acting head coach. In three seasons as the Atlanta Hawks' head coach from 2010-11 through 2012-13, Drew went 128-102 with three playoff appearances. He then served as the Milwaukee Bucks' head coach in 2013-14, going just 15-67.
While the Cavaliers played well offensively under Drew on Tuesday, they have looked like one of the NBA's worst teams this season.
A fifth straight trip to the NBA Finals appears to be out of the question with LeBron James no longer in the fold, but given Drew's impressive resume, he may be the best choice as Cleveland's head coach for the remainder of the season in terms of developing young players.
