The Cleveland Cavaliers hired Tyron Lue as their associate head coach right after they hired head coach David Blatt. Now, according to RealGM, they will add Jim Boylan, Larry Drew, and James Posey to David Blatt’s staff as assistant coaches. Phil Handy is being brought on as Director of Player Development and also an assistant coach role, along with Vitaly Potapenko, who will serve as Assistant Director of Player Development.

Jim Boylan began his coaching in Switzerland where he coached a team named Vevey for four years, from 1982 to 1986. He then returned to the states to serve as an assistant coach for Michigan State and later was a head coach for New Hampshire.

Boylan has been with the Cleveland Cavaliers before as well. He worked as a Cavaliers scout from 1992 to 1997. After his scouting days he became an assistant coach with the then-Vancouver Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, and Chicago Bulls. He became a head coach for the Bulls for one season (2007-08), where he coached them to a 24-32 record. Boylan later joined Milwaukee Bucks’ coaching staff as an assistant and became their head coach mid-way through the 2012-13 NBA season when Scott Skiles resigned as coach.

Larry Drew was most recently with the Bucks as well, where he was the head coach. Drew lost his head coaching position after the Bucks pulled a shocking move by negotiating a deal with the Brooklyn Nets to bring in Jason Kidd as a head coach, ousting Drew who had no idea he was going to lose his job.

Drew started his first assistant coaching gig with the Los Angeles Lakers back in 1992. He served as an assistant with the team for seven years and later joined the Detroit Pistons for one short year. He’s also been an assistant coach for the Michael Jordan led Washington Wizards, the New Jersey Nets, and Atlanta Hawks. He was made head coach of the Atlanta Hawks in 2010, succeeding Mike Woodson.

James Posey was granted an assistant coach position for the Canton Charge of the D-League last season. This will be his first experience as an NBA assistant coach. As a player, Posey has won two championships, one with the Miami Heat and one with the Boston Celtics. He played in the league for 13 seasons from 1999 to 2011.

Phil Handy was a player development coach for the Lakers beginning in 2011. He joined Mike Brown’s coaching staff as an assistant coach in Cleveland in 2013. He will continue his stay in Cleveland as an assistant coach as well as the Director of Player Development. Former NBA player, Vitaly Potapenko will join as an assistant player development coach.

The Cleveland Cavaliers coaching staff is now finished, and their roster is near completion as well. They have had one successful off-season. 

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Vahan Shakhpazyan
Vahan Shakhpazyan loves the NBA with a passion and has been an avid follower for 18 years. He is a UCR graduate with a BA degree in Creative Writing. The man behind the Facebook page NBA updates.