Memphis Grizzlies: 3 Reasons Cleveland Should Steer Clear of J.B. Bickerstaff in NBA Rumors
Youth Neglection
Perhaps the biggest disservice conducted by J.B. Bickerstaff while in the role as the Memphis Grizzlies’ head coach was his infatuation with veteran players. Time after time, regardless of opponent, circumstance, or scenario, J.B. would favor his vets over rookies and sophomores.
Rather than handing extended minutes to guys like Jaren Jackson Jr., Ivan Rabb, Jevon Carter — in order to expedite the youth development process — Bickerstaff favored veterans JaMychal Green, Joakim Noah, Shelvin Mack, and Garrett Temple, for instance.
Occassionally, giving minutes to veteran players is and was the smart move. However, in some cases, especially with Jackson Jr., leads and games were lost once some of the younger guys were pulled. In those some scenarios, if J.B. would go back to someone such as Jaren in the rotation, it was too late. The deficit was too large to overcome.
In pinpointing Jaren Jackson Jr., J.B. Bickerstaff was accustomed to benching the rookie once he was assessed with a third or fourth personal foul. Forget that the NBA game allocates six personal fouls to all players per game. Bickerstaff essentially would penalize Jackson Jr. for early fouls and would not allow him to learn how to play through foul trouble.
This was a major downfall when assessing the job J.B. Bickerstaff did as the Grizzlies’ head coach. In looking back after the 82-game season, it was evident that he was not looking too far beyond the 2018-19 season. He placed Jevon Carter in the lineup in just 39 games. Ivan Rabb was inserted in just 49 contests. Even Yuta Watanabe — one of the Memphis Grizzlies’ two-way contracts — managed to appear in just 15 regular season games for the Grizz.
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Talk about a lot of missed opportunies from a youth development standpoint. Especially once 2019 arrived and the Grizlies were endlessly dropping games, there was nothing more to lose in playing the team’s young guys. J.B. should have allowed them to jump-start their progress on the NBA level. Yet, he failed to do that in many instances. Memphis’ youth will not be quite as far ahead of schedule as they potentially could have been once the 2019-20 NBA season arrives.
As NBA rumors have included J.B. Bickerstaff in the conversation to take over the head coaching position for the Cleveland Cavaliers, this particular move could be a hazardous situation. The Cavs are one year into the rebuilding stage, but Bickerstaff could potentially slow their developmental progress to a screeching halt.
Do not put it past J.B. Bickerstaff to play a veteran point guard — such as Matthew Dellavedova — over first-year standout Collin Sexton. That progress made by Cedi Osman and Jordan Clarkson? That would not mean much in the world of Bickerstaff. Had J.B. been Cleveland’s head coach in 2018-19, J.R. Smith would have been in full effect, logging minutes as a starter on the wing.
Furthermore, Kevin Love and Channing Frye would have received plenty of clock. You could say it would be a similar case to Marc Gasol and Mike Conley. J.B. Bickerstaff prefers his vets and that is all there is to it. He did not have much faith in any of his young guys this season, and that absolutely included the fourth overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, Jaren Jackson Jr.
In considering the similarities between Memphis’ and Cleveland’s rosters, the Cavaliers would be smart to stay far away from J.B. Bickerstaff. Their roster is changing guards from veteran-savvy to youth-driven. They will continue to get younger, too. That is not a match for Bickerstaff’s coaching philosophy.