CLEVELAND — On Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to announce that John Beilein will be stepping away as the team's head coach.
But it doesn't appear the former Michigan coach will be leaving town empty-handed.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavs and Beilein have negotiated a financial settlement as a part of his departure. Beilein will reportedly receive a portion of his remaining salary for the 2019-20 season.
Last year, Beilein signed a five-year contract worth more than $4 million per season after accepting Cleveland's head coaching opening.
Following four decades-worth of success at the college level, the 67-year-old Beilein's trouble in adapting to the NBA game was evident. Through 54 games, the Cavs have amassed a 14-40 record, good for the worst mark in the Eastern Conference and the second-worst record in the NBA.
While Cleveland was hardly expected to be a contender this season, the team's losing was only compounded by off-court incidents involving Beilein. In December, Joe Vardon and Sham Charania of The Athletic reported that Cavs players were frustrated with Beilein’s coaching style and lack of understanding of the NBA game. One month later, the head coach was the subject of another controversy, in which he apologized to his players after stating they had been playing like “thugs” in a film session.
Factor in star forward Kevin Love’s apparent unhappiness and the team’s steady losing and it appeared to be a matter of not if, but when Beilein’s Cavs tenure would be coming to an untimely end. As it turns out, the answer to that question was the NBA All-Star break, with reports surfacing on Sunday night that the Cavs and Beilein were exploring a split.
Following Beilein's departure, the Cavs are expected to promote assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff to head coach.