Eastern Notes: Simmons, Mogbo, Cavaliers, Jackson, Rollins from

New Cavs assistant Mike Gerrity exits to become Pistons head coach

Former Nets coach Avery Johnson withdraws from running for same job

Celtics' Wyc Grousbeck slams Kyrie Irving again: 'It was very disappointing'

The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost an assistant coach to a rival Eastern Conference team, as Mike Gerrity has left to become the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, the team announced Wednesday. Gerrity, 49, spent the past two seasons as an assistant under J.B. Bickerstaff in Cleveland. He was previously the head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons’ G League affiliate, from 2014 to 2020. The Pistons fired Dwane Casey after they finished 23-59 last season, their worst record since going 29-53 in 2019-20. Gerrity is a well-respected coach with a strong track record of success at both the G League and NBA levels. He will be tasked with turning around a Pistons team that has not made the playoffs since 2019. In other coaching news, former Nets coach Avery Johnson has withdrawn from running for the Pistons’ head coaching job, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Johnson, 56, was considered to be one of the frontrunners for the job, but he has decided to pursue other opportunities. He has not coached in the NBA since being fired by the Nets in 2016. The Pistons are reportedly now focusing on Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon and Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin as their top candidates for the head coaching job. In other news, Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck has slammed Kyrie Irving again, saying that his departure from the team in 2019 was “very disappointing.” Irving left the Celtics to sign with the Nets as a free agent, and he has since been a vocal critic of the Celtics organization. “It was very disappointing,” Grousbeck said in an interview with The Boston Globe. “I think he’s a great player, but I don’t think he’s a great teammate. I don’t think he’s a great leader. I think he’s a great talent, but I think he’s a flawed personality.” Irving has not responded to Grousbeck’s comments.