Larry

Drew

Both coaches were long expected to join Tyronn Lue’s bench, continuing the overhaul that started with Doc Rivers’ firing. As well as adding the leadership of Billups (himself a head coach candidate this offseason), the Clips are hoping to rekindle the coaching chemistry between Lue and Drew. Those two shared five years with the Cavs from 2014-19, a stretch that included the championship in 2016.

The end-of-season cull continues among non-playoff teams, with Drew joining J.B. Bickerstaff and Dave Joerger as unemployed coaches. Drew was named interim head coach in October and he lasted the season, overseeing a rebuild in which Collin Sexton emerged as a franchise building block. Cleveland will go in another direction this summer, and it shouldn’t take long for Drew to find another job in the NBA.

Drew has been a head coach with the Hawks and Bucks and has been an assistant in Cleveland since 2014. There’s a good chance he’ll man the ship for the rest of the season.

Drew’s new contract will be partially guaranteed for the 2019-20 campaign, so if the Cavs decide to move on after this season, they will need to buy him out. The Cavs pulled out a win in the first game after Tyronn Lue’s dismissal, but they followed that up with two straight losses. Drew will be adding a lot of L’s to his personal win-loss column this season.

Drew is known to be skating on thin ice in regards to his future with the Hawks, but a “final determination may not be made until next week or perhaps later.” GM Danny Ferry gave no timetable for a decision on Drew, but it would be a surprise if he let the situation linger too long.

The report states that there “had been” mutual interest between Drew and the team previously, but it’s not clear if the Pistons remain interested. It’s expected the battle for the Pistons next head coach will come down to Nate McMillan and Maurice Cheeks.

After six seasons as an assistant in Atlanta, Drew was promoted to the head-coaching spot ahead of the 2010-11 season. He proceeded to compile a 128-102 record over three seasons, making the playoffs each year. But Drew clashed with Josh Smith at times and the Hawks were bounced out in the first round in each of the last two years. They’ve moved on to Mike Budenholzer. Drew beat out Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson for the Bucks gig. It’s a solid, but not a sexy hire. Drew’s deal is for three years with a fourth-year team option.

Assistant coaches Anthony Goldwire, Chris Gilmartin, Sidney Moncrief, Bill Peterson and Joe Wolf have all been told they won’t be back with the team next season. Drew has yet to formally announce his staff, but FOX Sports Wisconsin pointed out that former Hawks assistants Nick Van Exel and Bob Bender helped run the Bucks’ draft workout Wednesday.

Drew is still technically coach of the Hawks but is operating under the impression that he is a free agent. He’s already interviewed for the Bucks job and could interview elsewhere as the job market develops. The Clippers job became open when owner Donald Sterling declined to offer Vinny Del Negro a new contract. It remains to be seen if they’ll have interest in Drew or whether this is simply Drew’s way to trying to flag down every potential interview before all the head coach jobs are taken.

It might seem strange for a coach under contract to be interviewing elsewhere, but Drew told Hawks beat writer Chris Vivlamore that he and GM Danny Ferry agreed to allow Drew to interview elsewhere. Drew said he won’t rule out returning to coach the Hawks but said he’s “moved on from the situation” in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Ferry has already interviewed at least three candidates to replace Drew and there was a report the number is actually bigger than that. It seems only a matter of time until Drew is no longer officially employed by Atlanta.