Cleveland Cavaliers fire coach J.B. Bickerstaff

May 23 (UPI) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers, who reached the playoffs in the last two years and won at least 44 games for three consecutive seasons, fired coach J.B. Bickerstaff, the team announced Thursday.

"Decisions like these are never easy, particularly when you look back at where this franchise rebuild started under his leadership," Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said in a news release.

"The NBA is a unique business that sometimes requires aggressive risk-taking to move a franchise forward and ultimately compete for championships.

"We owe a ton of gratitude for everything J.B. has contributed to the Cavaliers and his engagement in the Cleveland community. We wish J.B., his wife Nikki and their three children the best in their future endeavors."

Bickerstaff led the Cavaliers to a 170-159 regular-season record over five seasons. He took over as Cavaliers coach in 2020 after John Beilein resigned. The Cavaliers finished the 2019-20 campaign with a 19-46 record, going 5-6 over their final 11 games under Bickerstaff.

They went 22-50 in 2020-21, Bickerstaff's first full season.

The Cavaliers, who picked All-Star guard Darius Garland in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft and Evan Mobley in the first round in 2021, then went 44-38 in 2021-22.

They added All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell through a 2022 trade and proceeded to go 51-31 that season, their winningest campaign since LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were part of the franchise.

The Cavaliers went on to lose in the first round that postseason.

They went 48-34 this season and beat the Orlando Magic in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. The Boston Celtics, who had the best regular-season record (64-18) in the NBA, then eliminated the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, four games to one.

Bickerstaff, who signed a contract extension in 2021, finished his Cavaliers tenure with a 6-11 postseason record over the last two years.

The 45-year-old previously coached the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets. He also worked as an assistant for the Charlotte Bobcats, Minnesota Timberwolves, Rockets and Grizzlies.

He has a 255-290 regular-season record and 7-15 postseason mark in 567 total games as an NBA coach.