CLEVELAND, Ohio -- One by one, members of the Cleveland Cavaliers were asked about a midday report in which teammates questioned first-year head coach John Beilein’s methods, comparing his operation to college and stating that players had already drowned out his voice just 20 games into the new era.

“I don’t really see the comparison of college,” John Henson said before praising Beilein for reminding him of his old Hall-of-Fame coach at North Carolina, Roy Williams. “This is an NBA team, it’s run like an NBA team. What he’s doing, I don’t think anybody’s complaining. I think it’s kind of overshot, you know what I mean? They just kind of ran with it media wise. I think he’s doing fine, got a great staff. You saw tonight, we played hard, played well within our schemes, just didn’t come (out) on top.”

As players funneled out, heading for the team charter, en route to Philadelphia for the second game of a back-to-back on Saturday night, one player remained, waiting to give his take on the latest loss -- and ready to discuss a report that engulfed the Cleveland locker room.

It was vocal team leader Tristan Thompson.

Slowly getting dressed, tossing a stocking cap on his head, with an inhaler by his locker to help battle a cold, Thompson was next ready to fight a few of his own teammates when he was informed that three were quoted anonymously in an article that dropped hours before the Cavs’ fifth straight loss.

“Y’all better find them names ‘cause I’ll pull up on ‘em right now,” Thompson said. “You can’t do that s---.

“At the end of the day if you’re going to build a culture and a family, you can’t have that Chatty Patty s--- going on. That s--- is whack to me. Everyone’s got to look in the mirror, there’s only so much coach can do and there’s only so much we can do. Do we have the best roster in the NBA? No. But we’re going to go out there and compete every night. Guys got to look in the mirror. So I hope whoever reported that was just bulls------g and blamed it on a player.”

Not quite. That’s part of what made guys angry.

“Every team has problems,” Henson told cleveland.com. “This is the NBA. It’s most disappointing that it got out. This is supposed to be a family.”

Larry Nance Jr., who admitted wanting to play for Beilein at Michigan before ending up at Wyoming, echoed those thoughts.

“Ideally you want to keep that in house if there was those issues,” he said. “I guess that’s today, today’s NBA. Am I worried about it? No. My job doesn’t change. I’m going to play as hard as I can for as long as I can and try to get us to win.”

One player skimmed through The Athletic article at his locker prior to the game. In it, players complained about long film sessions, Beilein’s repeated nitpicking over basic fundamentals, not enough versatility on offense and a lack of understanding of the NBA game and opposing players. When that player saw some of the quotes, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What are we even mad about,” he asked. “It’s a story about nothing. I’ve enjoyed my time with coach thus far."

Not everyone was available for comment before -- or after -- Friday’s game. Some had already dressed and exited by the time the doors swung open following Beilein’s usual postgame address. Kevin Love, another leader, wasn’t even in the building Friday night, staying at home as he continues to fight an illness that kept him away from shootaround earlier in the morning.

But the ones who spoke on record, and three more who talked with cleveland.com anonymously, were supportive of Beilein, who made the NBA leap after 27 successful seasons in college, including 12 at the University of Michigan, where he took the Wolverines to nine NCAA Tournaments and two Final Fours.

Some players even had a few of their own guesses as to who was quoted, but unsurprisingly refused to reveal them.

The same article, which has various members within the organization rolling their eyes, also pointed out how players have started looking past Beilein, bending the ear of lead assistant J.B. Bickerstaff instead.

To that specific point, many said the same: Welcome to the NBA.

“We all have coaches assigned to us,” one player said. “Of course we are going to talk to them as much, if not more. In a business, do you bring everything to the CEO? No, you don’t."

Prior to the season, the Cavs split up coaching duties. That’s the way Beilein wanted it. Each was assigned a player or two in which to develop while Beilein oversaw the entire operation. Geriot works with Nance and Thompson, often taking part in free throw contests with the two following practice or shootaround. Henson recently joined that group. Love does much of his work with Steve Frankoski, the two growing close over the years and spending plenty of time together in the summer. Lindsay Gottlieb goes through film with second-year guard Collin Sexton before every game. She works out Alfonzo McKinnie alongside Jay Shunnar. Bickerstaff specifically asked to mold rookie Kevin Porter Jr., believing the pair could connect in a unique way. Player development ace Mike Gerrity has built a bond with Cedi Osman over the years, even going to visit him in Turkey during the off-season. And Antonio Lang has been running drills for backup center Ante Zizic. Those are just a few examples.

Heck, Love even has a pre-existing connection with Bickerstaff because the two were in Minnesota together years ago. It’s part of why the Cavs targeted Bickerstaff, a former NBA head coach, when rounding out Beilein’s staff in the off-season. They wanted Bickerstaff to help Beilein’s transition, recognizing that amount of experience would be beneficial, and his connections with players were an asset.

Is it really that damning of a dynamic?

“Every coach that I’ve played for from Byron Scott to Mike Brown to David Blatt to T Lue, Larry Drew’s an exception, coach Beilein, players always talk to the assistant just because the coach is so busy thinking about so much stuff within the game,” Thompson said. “It’s just like in college. You talk more freely with the assistant coach because they’re kind of like the therapist on the team. When T Lue was the associate head coach, everyone talked to T Lue. When T Lue became the head coach, MF’s started talking to Big Dan, Steve and Phil Handy.

“Every team, everyone talks to the assistant coaches just because the head coach has got so much going on in his head, he’s trying to game plan, defense, he’s got so much going on. It’s like me running my own house. Don’t tell me when the pipes are broke. Fix ‘em, then if it’s an issue and it costs a lot of money, you come tell me. Fix the problem, then if it gets big enough I’m going to talk about it. It’s like anything in life. I think that’s full of s---.”

Everyone will admit there’s been an adjustment period. It was expected. Love spoke to cleveland.com in October about some pushback from the players on some of Beilein’s unique -- and possibly polarizing -- ways. That’s natural when plucking a coach from the college ranks, one with no previous NBA experience. It’s new and different for everyone. Managing the many personalities is more important than schemes, Xs and Os and rotations. But one coach said Beilein is “very open” to feedback about how to best conduct practices and film sessions. He’s always willing to ask for -- and take -- advice from his staff. He talks to players repeatedly to get a sense of what they need from him.

Even though he came from college where everything had a strict, set schedule and it wasn’t a player’s league, the newbie NBA coach feels he’s adapted while admittedly still seeking some middle ground.

“I’ve changed, probably the biggest change of my life and I will continue to do that,” Beilein said. “That’s why I’m still coaching here after all these years, to continue to try and find what’s the best way to reach people. Why do we watch more film or why do we want to practice a little bit better? We want to be efficient with what we do and there’s a certain accountability that a head coach has to have. I feel good about it.

“We were the worst defensive team in the NBA last year. What do we do, practice less? We have to do that and we’ve got to continue to work at it. I have a lot of confidence the guys in the locker room are on board, and they’ve told me that."

According to sources, Cavs film sessions last season were in the 45-minute range. The length always varies based on the coach and the previous games. Beilein’s last anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. He’s discussed some running longer out of necessity. Wednesday was one of those, coming off the heels of the most disappointing loss of the season. That seemed to irk a few players. They spoke out during the session.

Beilein’s also cut practice days -- and times -- down from earlier, recognizing the need to keep guys off their feet.

“Every time you have a new coach it’s an adjustment,” Thompson said. “At the end of the day coach Beilein’s our coach, I like what he’s brought to the table. He gives guys opportunities to play outside the box. For me especially, he’s believed in me to go do things that other coaches might have been scared or just used to us doing a certain thing. I love coach Beilein. I think he’s great for development, I think he understands that players have so much more in them and he wants to get the best out of you.”

Under Beilein’s watch, Thompson is enjoying a career year. He’s averaging 13.9 points and 10.6 rebounds. He leads the team in double-doubles. He’s never gotten more shot attempts.

“If a nine-year vet, NBA champ, you can go down the roster with everything, if I’m thinking the guy’s pretty good -- and I’m probably the smartest guy in this locker room -- if I think the guy knows what he’s doing, then they shouldn’t hear anything else.”

The Cavs are hoping to put this all in the past. What matters now is how they move forward.

Sources say the 66-year-old Beilein is doing everything he’s been asked and has full support from the front office. This is a development year -- even if some players don’t want to fully accept that.

There’s a focus on fundamentals because the team is bad and there are many young players that need to learn the right way. There are long film sessions because players, even veterans, continue to make the same mistakes. Just like Friday against the Orlando Magic, as the Cavs reverted back to bad habits late in the fourth quarter and watched another opponent rip a victory from their grasp.

The Cavs were attracted to Beilein for many reasons. His ability to teach being near the top of that list. He has a long, successful history of working with players in their teens and early 20s and turning them into first-round picks.

Players like rookie Darius Garland, who said Beilein has “meant a lot” to his growth.

Beilein said he didn’t read Friday’s article. But when asked about some of the specific critiques from his players, ones that were shared privately, the veteran coach brushed them off and doubled down on his belief that the Cavs are headed in the right direction.

“It’s what I signed up for a long time ago and it’s what I signed up here (for),” he said. “And then, everybody would say that, ‘What are you going to do in the NBA when…’ We’ve got guys with contracts on the line right now. They’re feeding their families. It’s passionate, so I understand all that, but our job is what is the best way for us to continue to improve this team so that we continue to grow and it sets a foundation for the future."

That foundation was slightly rocked Friday afternoon. A quiet day turned noisy when three of his own questioned him publicly for the first time behind the cloak of anonymity -- even though most have had a much different tone face to face.

“We really had more than one of them, two, three, four we’ve met with and it’s like, ‘Coach, keep doing what you’re doing because we really need this. We need accountability, we need to play harder, stronger, tougher. Don’t stop what you’re doing,’” Beilein said.

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