Cavaliers to interview Mark Price for head coaching position

After a whirlwind day for Cavaliers fans from all the John Calipari talk, Dan Gilbert and David Griffin won some brownie points with a large portion of the fan base. Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer is reporting that the Cavaliers will interview former Cavalier point guard Mark Price for the head coaching position tomorrow.

Price is a legend in Cleveland for his time as a Cavalier from 1986-1995. In that time, he was selected to four All-Star games and was a part of seven different trips to the playoffs (47 games) in what is still considered by some to be the best era in franchise history. In franchise lore, he ranks 5th all-time in scoring, 2nd in free throw percentage, 1st in assists, 2nd in steals, 1st in three pointers made, and 6th in games played.

The Georgia Tech product has been coaching since retiring in 1998 at various ranks, but he began working in the NBA in 2007 and has since held assistant coaching positions with the Nuggets, Hawks, Warriors, Magic, and Bobcats (now Hornets). His roles prior to this past year were primarily of the shooting coach and player development variety, but he was a full-fledged assistant for Steve Clifford’s Charlotte staff this season.

Our friend Jack (@WayneEmbrysKids) had a passionate write-up on the case for hiring Price as the team’s head coach several weeks ago, and it’s certainly worth a read if you missed it the first time.

Is Mark Price my top candidate? Absolutely not, but he is well deserving of an interview for the opportunity to prove himself and win over Gilbert and Griffin. It’s a lot to ask of Price to come into a situation where he’s so universally beloved and fill a new role. It’s especially difficult given the volatility of the NBA head coaching ranks, especially here in Cleveland, where we give five-year contracts to coaches and then dismiss them after one year.

It’s been reported that the Cavaliers have interviewed former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, former journeyman head coach Alvin Gentry, Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue, former Bulls and Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro, and Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin. They also reportedly have some level of interest in Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt. They’ve been reportedly spurned by a quartet of college coaches in Calipari, Tom Izzo, Kevin Ollie, and Billy Donovan.

Related: Cavalier NBA Draft Film Room: Jabari Parker

(Photo: Charlotte Hornets/NBA)