Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 long-term candidates to replace head coach John Beilein

1. Jordi Fernandez

After watching how things unfolded for Beilein, the Cavaliers are going to be hard-pressed to draw a big name. They already were going to have problem in that regard, given that they’re the Cleveland Cavaliers and that LeBron James no longer suits up for them. College coaches in cushy situations will be wary of making the jump now, and some of the bigger names floating around for a team like the Knicks — Kenny Smith, Mark Jackson, etc. — would have to be desperate to make the NBA leap in order to even consider this vacancy.

To that end, if things don’t work out with Bickerstaff (and let’s be honest, the odds seem pretty low), Cleveland’s best path would be looking around for some of the league’s best assistants who seem poised to make the leap and taking a chance on one of them.

Following that train of thought, Denver Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez fits the bill perfectly. He spent time with the Cavs as a player development coach from 2009-13, as well as an assistant and eventually the head coach of the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ G League affiliate. He experienced the highs of Cleveland’s championship run in 2016 and the lows that came before.

Fernandez has been an assistant with the Nuggets since 2016, and his positive relationship with players might be as important as anything.

Consider how Mike Gansey, the Cavs assistant general manager, described him to The Denver Post two years ago: “You talk to him for five minutes, and you feel like you’re his best friend or you’re an important person. He makes you feel wanted so much … He’s just got that personality and that presence, especially with players.”

Sounds like a pretty ideal replacement for the younger cornerstones in the locker room after what they went through with Beilein, no?