Nate Tibbetts Hired As Cleveland Cavaliers Assistant Coach

The Cleveland Cavaliers made an excellent addition to their coaching staff on Monday, hiring Tulsa 66ers head coach Nate Tibbetts as an assistant coach. Tibbetts' assistant with the D-League's 66ers, Dale Osbourne, will take over head coaching duties in Tulsa.

Tibbetts was hired as the 66ers head coach prior to the 2009-10 season after two years as head coach of the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Prior to his D-League head coaching positions, he spent time as an assistant with the Skyforce as well as the University of Sioux Falls.

"Nate comes from an organization that has developed a young core and a similar belief system in creating success with a defense-first mentality and Aubrey is an accomplished and respected player development coach that is going to be a great fit with all our coaches and our players," Cavs head coach Byron Scott said about Tibbetts and fellow hire Aubrey McCreary in a press release. "I am very excited for our group to get started with our team soon."

The 34-year-old also served as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder during their playoff run last season and was most recently head coach of Team USA's entry in this fall's Pan-Am Games. It's an excellent hire by the Cavs and a much-deserved promotion for Tibbetts.