JB Bickerstaff helped breathe new life into the Detroit Pistons in his first year with the team last season, but he knows exactly what it feels like to be suddenly replaced as a head coach. After spending nearly a decade as an assistant coach around the league, Bickerstaff had short stints with the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies before eventually landing a long-term gig with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2020.
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Yet, even after helping to restore the franchise following LeBron James’ exit, JB was fired following a disappointing playoff run in the 2023-24 season. So, even with his recent success, he empathizes with coaches who are blamed for their team’s shortcomings. The 46-year-old made his feelings known regarding the disrespect directed at coaches during his appearance on Get Up.
Bickerstaff acknowledged the notion that head coaches in the NBA are treated like they are dispensable. He also understands that coaching professional sports is a luxury, so he didn’t want to use his TV time to complain. Instead, he discussed his desire for more respect toward head coaches from around the league.
“But what I do wanna do is make sure we continue to put respect on the name of coach in the NBA,” Bickerstaff said. “And we have some extremely talented people who do phenomenal jobs. But when you look at what happened to Taylor [Jenkins], you look at what happened in Denver. Things that happened down the stretch, it just seems to me like there’s a lack of respect for what coaches bring.”
The Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins a week before the playoffs, and the Nuggets let go of Mike Malone with just 3 games remaining in the regular season. Malone’s firing caught everyone by surprise, considering how he led the franchise to a title less than two years ago at that point.
Bickerstaff knows coaches do more than bark plays from the sidelines. Sometimes, having a coach who sticks around can be just as important as having a core of players who have played together for years. Both are keys to sustained success. Just look at the San Antonio Spurs with Tim Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich, who won five titles together.
“Coaches bring leadership. Coaches bring respect. Coaches bring discipline. They bring organization,” Bickerstaff continued. “They’re the ones who help build culture and what is sustained success. And when you are inconsistent with your coaches and you decide to move off of them more quickly, that’s when your team is gonna be up and down.”
JB and the Get Up crew agreed that the easiest thing for any NBA team to do is fire their head coach when things start to go sideways. It takes a strong-willed owner and trust from players to make a long-term coaching hire fit. It’s not always easy to accomplish, but Bickerstaff believes this is why Indiana and Oklahoma City are in the NBA Finals right now.
“And if you look at it, the teams that are in the Finals now, they trust in Rick Carlisle. Mark [Daigneault] was [OKC’s] G League coach, right? And Sam Presti made the decision to elevate him, build through the ups and downs of what it was gonna take to get to where they are. Now, both those teams are in the final,” Bickerstaff added.
With over two decades of NBA coaching experience, Bickerstaff knows both what coaches provide and what needs to happen for them to stick around. He’ll have to hope his Pistons continue to see the value he brings after finishing second in this season’s Coach of the Year race.
