The Cleveland Cavaliers will take their time deciding the future of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff after they were eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Boston Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, according to ESPN.

Bickerstaff took over from John Beilein to coach the Cavaliers in February 2020. The team has been 170-159 under him. They finished all of the past three regular seasons with a winning percentage of over .500, advanced to the playoffs in both 2023 and 2024, and won their first postseason series without LeBron James since 1993 after beating the Orlando Magic 4-3 in the East's first round this year.

The Cavaliers had a young core in Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. Garland was named to the All-Star Game in 2022. Mobley was selected for the All-Defensive First Team last season. He has been playing with All-Star center Jarrett Allen, who is an elite rim protector with universal offensive skills. More importantly, the team traded for Donovan Mitchell, a five-time All-Star scoring ace, in September 2022.

From every angle, the Cavaliers look like a team on the rise with their roster and coach Bickerstaff. Nonetheless, his remarks on Wednesday raised some eyebrows.

"We have continued to build this thing the right way," Bickerstaff said at the press conference. "Every single year we've improved, continued to get better, play-in, playoffs, win a round ... players have gotten better. Guys have had great years. This is definitely a place I want to be. I mean, no one's told me I'm not. So, I'll keep showing up 'til they tell me not to."

The head coach is not the only position the Cavaliers have questions about. Mitchell, who has a player option for the 2025-26 season in his contract with the team, reportedly wants to leave if the team doesn't go far enough in the postseason. He has undoubtedly been the team's talisman and averaged 27.5 points, 6.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game in the past two seasons.

If Mitchell is willing to stay in Cleveland, he can sign a four-year, $208 million extension at max with the team, according to ESPN. Back in April, Bleacher Report revealed that he would part ways with the team unless they reached the NBA Finals this season. Bickerstaff and several players, including Max Strus, admitted that the franchise went through a lot of adversity, per ESPN.

Despite their potential, the Cavaliers today are too far from growing into a title contender. They showed good resilience and discipline against the Celtics. Allen hasn't played for the team since April 27 because of bruised ribs. Mobley proved with his performance that he could be a trustworthy center for the team in the intensive postseason competitions, at least on the defensive end.

However, it was the Cavaliers' poor offense that cost them the series against the Celtics, and Garland must be held responsible for it. Mitchell sat out the final two games in the Eastern semifinals due to a strained left calf. Garland shot 4-for-17 from the field to get only 11 points in the win-or-go-home Game 5. He had some highlights from time to time in this year's playoffs, but generally, he was a big disappointment. He averaged no more than 15.7 points, 5.8 assists and 2.3 turnovers per game.

Garland, 24, just finished the first season of his five-year, $197 million deal with the Cavaliers. Mobley, 22, is available for extension negotiations this summer. They are both promising young men, but there is no assurance of a title contender in the near future. The Cavaliers' payroll will stay above the salary cap for at least another two seasons if Mobley stays on a deal worthy of him. Therefore, the team won't be a serious contender for a star free agent.

The Cavaliers don't have too many first-round draft picks left to trade after the blockbuster deal to acquire Mitchell two years ago. Their most valuable asset is Allen, who still has three years left on his five-year, $100 million contract. They may trade him to upgrade their forward positions. However, the team was already haunted by the lack of reliable backups for him and Mobley in the postseason. Improving the forwards at the cost of further weakening the big man doesn't necessarily make the team better.