Cleveland Cavaliers to interview Mark Price for head coach job on Tuesday
The Cleveland Cavaliers will interview former guard Mark Price for their head coaching vacancy on Tuesday, according to Mary Schmitt Boyer and Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer. A longtime star and one of the most recognizable faces of the Cavs’ success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Price joins a growing list of candidates for the job.
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With the recent news that Kentucky coach John Calipari passed up a massive offer to take over Cleveland’s GM and head coaching duties, the Cavaliers have apparently expanded their search to other options. Among those are former Suns coach Alvin Gentry and Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue, who will both meet with team owner Dan Gilbert on Tuesday.
It’s unclear whether Price will also be meeting with Gilbert in addition to other Cavaliers executives, but his presence in the process is intriguing. He played in Cleveland from 1986-1995, making four All-Star teams while emerging as one of the league’s elite shooters. After finishing his career bouncing around the league, the Cavs retired his No. 25 in 1999.
Since going into retirement in 1998, Price has been an assistant at all levels, though he’s coached in the NBA since 2007. Over the past seven years, he’s worked with the Nuggets, Hawks, Warriors, Magic and, most recently, the Bobcats. He has never been a head coach before.
As a player, Price averaged 15.2 points and 6.7 assists per game over his 12-year career. He was the NBA’s all-time leader in free throw percentage (90.4 percent) before recently being passed up by Steve Nash. However, it wouldn’t take many misses for Price to retain his throne should the aging Lakers’ guard continue his career.