CLEVELAND -- Larry Drew survived one of his most challenging seasons as a coach. He's not sure he wants another one -- or if he'll even get it.
Before Cleveland's season finale, a 124-97 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night, Drew said "let's hope not" when asked if it would be his last game as the Cavaliers coach. Drew took over seven games into the season after Tyronn Lue was fired, and the 61-year-old coach led the Cavs through a season loaded with losses and injuries to top players.
Drew intends to meet soon with Cavs general manager Koby Altman to discuss his future. The two have not scheduled a meeting.
Asked if he wanted to come back as coach, Drew gave a vague answer.
"I really don't want to get into that part of it right now," Drew said while standing in a hallway inside newly named Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. "What I really want to do is just finish this game tonight, and Koby and I will sit down and talk about it. We're going to give it a few days, and we'll sit down and discuss it."
Drew, who joined the Cavs as an associate coach in 2016, was given a raise when he replaced Lue in November. The Cavs also restructured his contract, which included a team option for next season.
While he waits to find out if he is in the team's plans, Drew said he is proud of the job he and his staff did this season in developing young players such as rookie guard Collin Sexton.
At one point this season, Drew said he wasn't sure he wanted to coach any longer. Some coaching success hasn't changed his thinking.
"The one thing I was going to do once the season was over, I was going to make sure that I go back and kind of take a mental evaluation of the season and then just check the boxes," he said. "And I can clearly say that I checked the boxes of what I had to accomplish, and I'm very proud of what I've done and my staff, along with what we've had to endure. I'm comfortable with what took place."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
