Former NBA Head Coach To Assist Cavs In Consultant Role
Before tipping the season off on Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers have welcomed Dave Joerger and his expertise to help J.B. Bickerstaff in a coaching consultant role.
A source close to the team told Cavs Insider that Joerger will be helping Bickerstaff on the coaching side from afar “with whatever J.B. wants him to do” and won’t regularly be with the team itself.
Jan 21, 2019; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Dave Joerger reacts against the Brooklyn Nets in the fourth quarter at Barclays Center.
Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports
Joerger has been a head coach twice in his career, but has been an assistant for a couple of different teams as well. Joerger spent six seasons with the Grizzlies as an assistant before the organization hired him as its head coach in 2013.
After three years there, garnering a 147-99 record and three playoff appearances with early exits, both he and Memphis decided upon a change of scenery. (Ironically, Bickerstaff worked as an associate head coach for Joerger's replacement David Fizdale the very next season.)
Joerger joined the Kings for three more full seasons in the same position in 2016. It did not go to plan, as he went 99-148 over that period.
Once his time in Sacramento came to a close in 2019, Joerger headed back east in a non-head-coaching role. Most recently, the 49-year-old spent the last three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers alongside Doc Rivers. During that time, Joerger went through head and neck cancer treatments during the 2021-22 season before returning to the bench in February in a full-time capacity.
Joerger held that assistant role with Rivers in Philadelphia until Doc’s time came to an end with the Sixers this offseason.
With plenty of coaching experience, he’s earned the respect of his peers and players he’s worked with. Now, he’s lending a hand to Bickerstaff and the Cavs, who are looking to take another big step toward being a true contender in the Eastern Conference.
