CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As negotiations continue between acting coach Larry Drew and general manager Koby Altman about restructuring Drew's contract, Cavaliers chairman Dan Gilbert said he is staying out of it.

"I leave that up to Koby Altman and I'm confident they will get it worked out between the two of them," Gilbert said Thursday evening, following the All-Star Game announcement at Quicken Loans Arena.

For Gilbert, those were his first public comments about the situation since former head coach Tyronn Lue's firing on Sunday morning.

"Very difficult. I like Ty as a person and a coach," Gilbert said. "I think Koby's feeling as well as the rest of the front office was that there's certain coaches for certain eras I guess. Ty is a championship coach and this is a different kind of situation and he felt that Larry Drew was the best guy for that job."

Altman revealed the other day that he consulted with his aides before dismissing Lue after a horrendous 0-6 start. When Altman came to the conclusion to go a different direction, the GM took that decision to Gilbert, who signed off on it.

But the transition hasn't been smooth and it threatens more chaos.

Drew isn't officially the interim coach. He is the "voice." Drew said earlier this week he wouldn't become the interim without some kind of new contract. He's looking for more money and security if he's going to take on a bigger role with the team.

Drew guided the Cavaliers to their first win of the season on Tuesday night and now owns a 10-1 mark with the team, including nine wins last year when filling in for Lue, who stepped away because of health-related issues.

"I think Larry Drew is one of my favorite guys, favorite coaches, but I just don't think it's appropriate to comment on Koby and Larry Drew's negotiations," Gilbert said.

Prior to Thursday's matchup against the Denver Nuggets, Drew said "talks are moving forward in a positive direction."

As for the Cavs, they set out to overachieve this season. After taking some plusses from the first two losses against Toronto and Minnesota, the Cavaliers couldn't compete with the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets. In their first games, Cleveland never held a second-half advantage. It lost four of the first six by double figures and trailed by at least 16 in each of those games.

But, according to players and Drew, the 22-point win Tuesday over the Hawks was the start of a new chapter.

Neither Gilbert nor the Cavs are yet ready to throw in the towel.

"I do think we're competitive. I think you will see us become competitive, yeah," he said. "We will see what happens tonight and the next few games here. We're scoring enough points to win every game, but on the other side of the floor we could use some improving. If we do, we will see what happens.

"Plus it's early in the season to make any kind of calls as to what the future is going to be."