Cavs HC Rumors: Jordi Fernandez, Wes Unseld Jr., More Interview for Vacant Job

The Cleveland Cavaliers interviewed four candidates for their open head-coaching position in Denver on Saturday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Nuggets assistant coaches Wes Unseld Jr. and Jordi Fernandez, Blazers assistant coach David Vanterpool and Orlando Magic assistant Steve Hetzel all spoke with Cavaliers brass.

Denver is hosting Portland for Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday.

Per Wojnarowski, the Cavs will interview Blazers assistant coach Nate Tibbetts after the series ends. They already spoke with San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina. 

Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel reported that Cleveland has also interviewed Spurs assistant Ime Udoka, ex-Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Utah Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen and Mavericks assistant coach Jamahl Mosley.

Unseld Jr., the son of Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Wes Unseld, has been an NBA assistant since 2005. Denver is his fourth pro stop, and he's the "lead assistant coach" with the 54-28 Nuggets, who earned the West's No. 2 seed.

Fernandez has a connection to the Cavs: He led the G League affiliate Canton Charge to back-to-back 31-19 seasons in 2014-15 and 2015-16 and was also the NBA team's player development coach from 2009 to 2013.

He left for Denver in 2016 to join head coach Mike Malone's staff.

Hetzel coached the Canton Charge the year before Fernandez took over and worked as a Cavs video coordinator, per Parry. Hetzel also spent four years as a Pistons player development coach and has been an assistant under Steve Clifford on his Charlotte Hornets and Magic staffs.

Tibbets was on the Cavs' staff as an assistant from 2011 to 2013 before joining Terry Stotts in Portland for the past six years.

Vanterpool played professionally in America and overseas from 1995 to 2007 and has been an assistant coach for CSKA Moscow (2007-2012) and the Blazers (2012-present) ever since.

ESPN.com's Kevin Arnowitz mentioned Fernandez and Tibbets in an April 2018 article discussing the potential next wave of head-coaching candidates.

Ultimately, Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman doesn't have a shortage of experienced and talented options to replace head coach Larry Drew.