Ever since news broke that the Cavaliers were interested in Tom Izzo, the attitude has been that it's his job to lose. With talks of a massive contract offer coming and all that, it's easy to understand why people believed that Izzo's future would be up to him and him only. In reality, though, even if Izzo wants the Cavs job, he might have to stay at Michigan State if Cleveland opts to go in a different direction.
The team has reached out to ESPN analyst and former New Orleans coach Byron Scott and ESPN/ABC analyst and former coach Jeff Van Gundy. The Cavaliers have spoken with a representative of Scott in the past 24 hours, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard. It is not clear how strongly Van Gundy, who has given indications that he may not want to coach next season, is considering the job.
I still believe that Izzo is the top candidate for the Cavs job, but the question now shifts to how much the Cavs really want him. If Izzo decides that he wants to wait to see what LeBron James does, would Cleveland be OK with that, or would they simply move down the list of candidates and go with someone else? At this point the timetable looks like it will be a big factor in what Izzo ends up doing, especially if he wants to wait and see where LeBron ends up before deciding one way or another.