CLEVELAND -- Thursday was supposed to be a day for celebration. But shortly after the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that Quicken Loans Arena will host the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, Dan Gilbert found himself answering questions about controversy.
In particular, the Cavs owner faced a series of questions regarding the peculiar situation his team finds itself in regarding its head coaching position. After firing head coach Tyronn Lue on Sunday, acting head coach Larry Drew has yet to agree to terms to serve as the team's interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
"I leave that up to [Cavs GM] Koby Altman," Gilbert said. "I'm confident they're going to work it out."
It will ultimately be Gilbert's final decision, however, to sign off on a potential new deal for Drew, who is hoping for more security in exchange for taking over what he views as a rebuilding project. After an 0-6 start to the season, the Cavs picked up their first win of the season on Tuesday in a 136-114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in which Drew served as acting coach.
At this point, it's unclear whether Drew -- who is making just under $1 million this season -- is seeking more money for the year or also additional years on his contract. It's also unclear whether or not Gilbert would be willing to offer either, despite there currently being no other obvious candidate to take over as the team's interim head coach.
"Larry Drew's one of my favorite guy's, favorite coaches," Gilbert said. "I just don't think it's appropriate to comment on Koby and their negotiations."
Prior to Thursday's All-Star Game announcement, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he spoke to Altman about both the Drew situation and J.R. Smith's recent request for a trade. And while he didn't provide much insight into the content of the conversation, he did make it clear that he'd prefer Drew's status with the team to be settled sooner rather than later.
"When there's been a quick coaching change this early in the season, you'd like everyone to get back to basketball as quickly as possible," Silver said. "There are appropriate and fair discussions about compensation. You'd, again, like to see those take place in boardrooms and not through the media."
