Bickerstaff’s comments about Dončić playing through rib injury had ‘nothing to do’ with Allen
“If I have a problem with a person or a player, ask me directly, and I’ll tell you.”
Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff made waves in June when he praised Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić on his ability to play through a rib injury in an interview in June.
“[Dončić] is a guy who was taking shots in his ribs so that he can go out and play,” Bickerstaff said last summer. “He was playing through pain. He wasn’t complaining. He was still playing 40 plus minutes trying to go out and get it done.”
This could’ve been interpreted as a shot at Jarrett Allen in the moment. Unlike Dončić, Allen chose not to get a shot to play. Allen clarified a month ago at media day that the injury was “worse than people thought.”
Bickerstaff, now head coach of the Detroit Pistons, said it wasn’t intended to be a critique of Allen before he faced off with his old team on Friday night.
“Jarrett and I have a great relationship, and always will,” Bickerstaff said. “Those comments had absolutely nothing to do with Jarrett Allen.”
Bickerstaff went on to clarify that he isn’t someone to send passive-aggressive shots at a player
“If you want to ask me a question about Jarrett Allen, I’ll tell you,” Bickerstaff said. “I’m not one of those guys that’s going to beat around the bush or give you vague responses. I’ve never been that way. If I have a problem with a person or a player, ask me directly, and I’ll tell you.”
Bickerstaff coached Allen for three and a half years in Cleveland. Allen’s arrival in 2021, along with drafting Evan Mobley a few months later, changed the trajectory of Cleveland’s rebuild.
“I love Jerrett Allen,” Bickerstaff said. “We have a great relationship. I saw him last week. We had a huge hug and a huge embrace, and I would never say anything to slight him or question him. And I think that’s a lot of silly people that are just searching for something to be found, who’ve got nothing better to do, looking for clickbait.”