[BREAKING]: Cavs Fire David Blatt; Sign Ty Lue to Multi-Year Deal As New Head Coach [UPDATED With David Blatt Statement]
2016-01-22
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Cleveland Cavaliers have fired Head Coach David Blatt.
Cleveland has fired coach David Blatt, sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 22, 2016
Also being reported is that Ty Lue has signed a multi-year deal to become the new Head Coach of the team.
Ty Lue has agreed to a three-year contract with Cavs, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 22, 2016
Blatt, who was 83-40 during his year and a half as the Coach of the Cavs, released this statement on the heels of his dismissal:
“I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as the Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Blatt wrote in a statement released by Priority Sports and Entertainment on Friday. “I’d like to thank Dan Gilbert and David Griffin for giving me this opportunity and am honored to have worked with an amazing group of players from LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love through our entire roster.
“I’d also like to express my extreme gratitude to my coaching staff. I am indebted to them for their professionalism hard work, loyalty and friendship. I am proud of what we have accomplished since I have been the Head Coach and wish the Cavaliers nothing but the best this season and beyond.”
LeBron was reportedly not consulted on the decision according to sources quoted by Brian Windhorst.
LeBron James was informed of the decision to fire David Blatt today, he was not consulted on decision sources said
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 22, 2016
Check back for updates as we get them…
Here’s Tom Pestak discussing the Blatt firing on ESPN Radio.
https://soundcloud.com/dayton-radio/breaking-cavs-fire-blatt-tom-pestak-reacts-on-dss
Lue’s performance against the Bulls – uninspiring. Looks like this team may even struggle to get out of the Eastern Conference.
And you guys all thought that a trip back to the finals was a guarantee. LOL.
After watching Ty Lue’s first interview these are my thoughts : I liked: 1) he said he was going to call out guys if don’t play hard enough. I hope he does. 2) he wants more ball and player movement, he even said that Blatt really liked to run ISO’s most of the time. I didn’t liked: 1) admiting to the press that the loss against the Warriors really affected the teams confidence. I personally don’t think is ok to give your opponent that mental advantage. Maybe he is right but I don’t think it’s ok to let know the… Read more »
The organization and especially the players come off terribly in this. You couldn’t respect a guy simply because he was an outsider? Give me a break. This is all on the players now. If or when they don’t win there is no one left to take the blame, LeBron included.
I wonder how the rest of the East feels when the number one team in the conference feels they need to make drastic, frantic changes?
I imagine a “what the eff are we even going to work for everyday?” Kind of notion going through the fourteen other Eastern Conference locker rooms.
In other news Myles “Davis” Turner throwin’ up 31 points off the bench for the Pacers against GSW. “Mighty” Joe Young putting up 16pts 8 assists in 28 minutes… sure would’ve like him instead Rakeem Christmas or Mo for that matter.
Looks like the pod is available.
JR, Shump and Delly all became more complete players under Blatt. Irving improved on defense last year from not interested to often adequate (this season he gets an incomplete due to injury).
So I guess SOME players were willing to be coached…
Christ, this comment section is a goddamned wreck. NBA coaches get fired more often than any other pro sport coach. Do you not remember GSW 2 years ago? Jesus…
And Arch, dude. Lighten the hell up.
Should I go one the treadmill or suck on a helium balloon?
Mutate some bioluminescence.
I’ll say one thing for this team. They keep it interesting!
I have always found circuses very interesting. Lots of clowns.
Cavs aren’t competing for a title, they’re competing with the Browns to see who can hire and fire more coaches over a 5 year period. I think they’re neck and neck.
Lenny Wilkins isn’t walking through that door…
Mark Jackson will be riding in on a hover board!
Bill Fitch aint walking through that door.
Will be interesting to see if Andy gets more playing time. It was always puzzling why Blatt hardly played him, since when he did Andy performed well. Who plays against the Bulls should reveal how TL differs from Blatt in managing rotations/minutes. Should be a very interesting game.
Yeah that’s one thing I look forward to for 15 games before another season ending injury for Andy.
I’m usually optimistic, so I’m surprised to be wondering this, but: is the championship window already closed for this Cavs team? Maybe it was only open last season. GSW are looking even better than they were before. The Spurs are back to being a terrifying basketball death machine. The Cavs haven’t shown anything that suggests they’re at that level, and apparently our locker room is a mess now. We might always get lucky with injuries. But the GSW key players are barely even playing 4th quarters this season, and Poppovich is the world champion at managing players’ minutes. One of… Read more »
Really?! You were happier watching crappy basketball and our best talent get NOT developed by crappy coaches? Even if we don’t win a title with Lebron, Kyrie has the chance to learn how to win instead of learn how to make the all star team. I get what you mean I guess, in that looking back on cheering for the crappy teams the Cavs put out with bob sura and Bobby Phills (RIP) and Terelle Brandon and Tyrone Hill were fun to cheer for because they were Cavs teams. But don’t get bored with getting the chance to cheer for… Read more »
I’m trying, but I really can’t see a way from here to a championship. Not while LeBron is still in his prime, anyway. Right now the Warriors are historically good and the Spurs are hot on their heels. It’s a bad time to be “win-or-bust.”
> and our best talent get NOT developed by crappy coaches
Don’t put words in my mouth, dude. Obviously I don’t want to have coaches failing to develop our talent. But I’m starting to think I’d rather have Kyrie and Wiggins, with a coach who *can* develop them, than this team right now.
The Warriors are not unbeatable. Neither are the spurs. That being said, I still wish the Cavs had Wiggins. Think that will go down as an all-time screwup.
That is entirely dependant on whether we win a title while love is in Cleveland. Wiggins isn’t an all time great or anything.
Nobody is unbeatable. But that GS team is unbeatable by this Cavs team, unless something dramatic occurs.
Oh you didn’t hear? The Cavs tried something some might call dramatic…
Dramatic in the wrong direction.
Tomorrow we can overlook some of the astounding comments post above because everyone was in shock.
When you wake up tomorrow, start with the basics:
1. The plan is to win the title.
2. It is clear there was a problem with Blatt.
3. This is NOT like someone tossing their wife for a young floozy, this is making a midcourse adjustment.
4. This does not make the Cavs look bad, them makes them look not dumb.
5. Sure LeBron brings problems to the table. So did Babe Ruth. That’s the way it goes with the best player.
“There was a problem with Blatt.” Ok. The problem was James didn’t want him, and Griffin and Gilbert let him poison the culture until they finally had to cave.
In Miami, James didn’t want Spoelstra. Riley didn’t cave. Result? Two titles.
I noticed that too… Riley told LBJ to put on his big boy pants and deal with it. Interesting that Griffin took the opposite route.
Too bad he isn’t the best player any longer. This is also something that occurs within dysfunctional organizations. It’s not so much they fired Blatt. It’s that they brought back Brown only to fire him, before firing Byron. Incompetence at its greatest. Oh but wait we have the savior…
It’s all good – whatever is best for the Klutch brand is what’s most important.
Steph Curry was born in Akron…
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-david-blatt-never-stood-a-chance-with-lebron-james-and-his-camp-035612484.html
Same article Arch posted above. With the points this article is sharing, I will have a very difficult time cheering for Lebron ever again.
That’s a pretty easily picked apart smear campaign. It’s written like a friggin political ad. Lebron is in business, yes. He makes money in business. He is a player with considerable knowledge about how to go about winning basketball games in the NBA, yes. He has different viewpoints than his coaches sometimes.
I’ve never actually read a woj article that un-specific in its references. Maybe Lebron wanted Blatt gone…expressing that opinion a few times isn’t the same as leading an all out rebellion. Be careful what you take to heart from either side of the story
But Woj’s account does jibe with what we’ve all seen on the court for the past year and a half, where LeBron does what he wants when he wants.
Other reporters have talked about LeBron ignoring Blatt in the huddle, vetoing his decisions, etc. And Windhorst claims the players “boycotted” the Portland game after Christmas….
It’s all information built on misinformation. We don’t know anything. Journalists are the absolute worst sometimes. Go read Foucault’s Pendulum. They are all reaching a conclusion reached based on observations of events using an unproven base assumption.
Windy + Woj + mcman does not equal truth…it equals cooperative spreading of rumor and hearsay. Using their opinions to judge a person’s main motivations (I.e., painting Blatt as plying favorites OR painting Lebron as a conniving teenage megalomaniac) is downright dangerous.
LOL….Curry with the halfcourt buzzerbeater at the half. Another ho hum 64 point half. Lue or not, if the Spurs look outmatched on Monday, nobody is beating them in the playoffs.
Unless they wear down trying to break a record.
Sure, or unless they get a critical nagging injury to a key player, or whatever….but that can happen to any team. I don’t see why people think the Warriors are particularly exerting themselves this season…more often than not, most of their starters are hardly playing in the 4th quarters, and all of their starters have low minutes.
Yep, completely accurate. By the way, in case everyone forgets, the warriors beat the bulls by 30 points in chicago just a few days after us. We are not the only team they have obliterated lately, but i bet the bulls starters weren’t laughing on the bench on national tv during the 4th quarter of a 30 point blowout at home. That is the current character of our players who just forced the cavs into looking like buffoons because our management has no spine.
4. Didn’t think Blatt was a very good coach, but LeBron is a lousy GM & Gilbert has never shown he can build a stable organization. Ever.
5. The best thing Gilbert has going for him as an NBA owner is the Browns.
This was of course from Simmons.
Quicken Loans is a best place to work. What is this guy talking about.
Yeah I’m glad the Cavs FO resisted Mark Jackson. But I don’t know how long that will actually last. If Lue doesn’t win this year, expect Jackson to be the coach next season.
Yeah, not a good choice.
Ugh, Mark Jackson and his backbiting can go pound sand. Let the Kings hire him.
Lol, Marc Jackson. Marc Jackson couldn’t break down a defensive scheme if someone highlighted the scheme’s weaknesses for him. He would crumble under the pressure of this coaching position.
They will not fire Lue, but if they do, bring in Luke.
This All Star game was a factor concerning the timing. Can you imagine how much more stupid the Cavs would look firing him after that? They just look a little snaky just signing Lue HC position while Blatt didn t even get 2 ft from clearing off his desk That apparently is better look than stupid from the organization. (I used a little sarcasm& exaggeration here but you get idea)
Bill Simmons loves Dan Gilbert, like he loves Vivak.
3. The Cavs are paying nearly 50m this year for Love/Thompson/Mosgov/Varejao in a league where everyone is going small… That’s not Blatt. — Bill Simmons
Thompson and Verejao are half that 50 million…. money well spent!
Bill Simmons is trying to get paid. He has nothing here. Andy was a contract from a different GM. Moz is an FA. Thompson and Love COULD be corner stones. Nothing suggests they cannot. Nothing says the Cavs can’t make the Finals. 28 other teams would love to be in the Cavs shoes.
So what? Not his fault. And, when the “going small” pendulum swings the other way, …
2. But the Cavs have struggled behind the scenes for the entire Gilbert era … they are paying 3 coaches right now for God’s sake. — Bill Simmons
So what? Gilbert does not care. Why do you?
You just need Cols to post so you can agree with him.
I love when the media begins to contradict each other. Especially with latest Woj article basically calling Haynes full of crap!
Don’t you think there is a little protection of Lebron from local reporters to keep access vs unbiased national sports reporters (if they exist. Right?)
Column: How David Blatt never stood a chance with LeBron James in Cleveland.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-david-blatt-never-stood-a-chance-with-lebron-james-and-his-camp-035612484.html
Yeah, Nate had the whole ‘narrative’ thing about Blatt pegged:
“So here’s what’s coming now: the trickle of stories on Blatt’s incompetence, the fact that no one respected him, and maybe most of all, that James had nothing to do with his firing. For all the fairytales sold on James’ return to Cleveland, this was forever about business – the kind of business they couldn’t do within Riley’s organization, nor Erik Spoelstra’s locker room.”
I don’t trust Woj when it comes to James. There’s well known acrimony between the two camps.
Woj may well not like him, but I think he gets most of the essentials right. Bottom line, Lebron has always been great at spinning his image — even better than Jordan did, when you consider the media saturation age we live in now. So it always comes across as a character attack from Woj when he basically reports the facts.
Interesting that this quote corroborates what Windhorst said re: LBJ/Blatt this week… how did LBJ think he was going to keep that stuff quiet?
I thought this made sense and it was a good article.
Tyronn Lue will coach the All-Star game
So, just to make this clear, Blatt was fired because the Cavs are not as good as the Warriors and Spurs. And Tyron Lue is now expected to make them as good as the Warriors or Spurs in the next three months?
What the Warriors have took five years to build to this point. The Spurs have a twenty year culture running. Tyron Lue is supposed to accomplish this in three months. Yea, that’s great. Great strategy.
HAHAHAHA…. well done bL!!! This drama is better than Young and the Restless!!!
The Cavs aren’t worried about the Spurs or the Warriors. They are trying to build a culture and David Blatt was not cohesive with the players culture.
Multiple comments from LBJ, our dear leader, would suggest otherwise re: worrying about GSW/SAS.
Regardless, bL never mentioned anything about worrying. He merely point out the fact that both of those organizations have continuity and the Cavs simply don’t, a function of time on task.
But if the coach has lost the locker room, he’s gotta go. Very simple.
Never said he had to stay. Very simple.
Yea lets just cycle through coaches every 6 or so months.
This is all fair. But I think the opposite thought process applied – i.e. they can go as far as Blatt can take them with anybody as coach, so might as well roll the dice with Lue.
You think anybody could take them as far as Blatt did? Like honestly, you actually just said that? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that statement is? Ok yea, let me just have a go at it while we’re here. Yea sign me up as head coach, I’ll put them up 2-1 in the finals against the Warriors without two of our best three players. This is ridiculous. I can’t even fathom how ESPN, which has become more like TMZ in the last two years, and so many fans can be so disrespectful to such an intelligent, hard working… Read more »
People can have differing views from you without being either crazy or stupid. I noted that your observations were all fair. If people being disrespectful offends your sensibilities, that is a two way street. In any event, what I said is “I think the opposite thought process applied” – obviously I didn’t have any role in firing David Blatt so I am not talking about what I thought in making the decision to fire him. I don’t disagree with you that I personally do not think anyone would have done as good a job coaching the Cavs as Blatt did.… Read more »
After watching Griffin’s presser, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if he moved Love. For a two-way player of some sort, I’m guessing.
Poor Blatt, he can’t even be right about his ultimatum that either he or Love has to go.
I’m almost expecting it.
Yes Exactly!!! Seems perfectly logical. RIght??
So you want to stick with a coach who is clearly screwing up one of the best teams ever assembled? And why?
Last year, the fact that Dion could never do it became apparent, and DG turned him into JRS+IS+TM. Were you crying that Dion did not get a fair chance? Let’s see what happens with this change. I will go out on a limb an predict the second half at 32-9 or better, a nice bump from the first half under Blatt.
Bwawahaha! Two more wins is a nice bump? You know we are 30 and 11 now right? Right? But seriously, screwing up? Or is it the players dicking around. Don’t care how bad your coach is. You don’t lose by thirty points because of your coach. That is effort. The problem is there is no accountability when the inmates run the asylum, and clearly that is what is happening. You really think Lue is going to be less of a chew toy than Blatt now that he is responsible or isn’t more realistic they just installed a puppet for Mr… Read more »
Aye.. last year at this time we gave up young Dion Waiters for two Knicks and I think it worked out pretty well for Cleveland. The players are right but the culture is wrong and maybe this move will fix that.
Even if there’s nothing technically wrong with firing Blatt, it’s just another thing that makes the team less enjoyable. If Lebron leaving and coming back wasn’t enough to completely show me exactly how mercenary pro sports are, the Blatt firing sure confirms it. I guess shame on me for being sentimental about sports, but this is no fun.
The real question is does this make the team better?
Players have no other option but to play better. I think if anything they look a little whiny and if they dont play better it sticks. Ugh the agony of a Cleveland fan, Im too old for this s….
Well, this certainly gives new meaning to the team being dependent on LeISO.
Personally I think it had to be done, whether or not Blatt’s coaching was the problem, players were using him as an excuse for inconsistent play. No excuses now. I believe that is what this move was all about.
I agree that it had to be done. I think Lue’s a very good coach. Let’s hope he can get it done. All the best to him. No more excuses for the players.
Why is everyone’s ideal coach someone who yells at lebron like he’s a child, and who institutes a magical offense that hums and purrs like the team that’s been together 5 years and has like 7 perfect pieces, or the offense built around 3 guys and a coach who’ve been together since lebron’s been in the league or longer? Lebron James got us to the finals last year. Lebron will get us to the finals this year. I don’t care if donald trump is coaching us. Talent wins. (Unless you’re popovich, who could probably coach a team of high school… Read more »
Geez people. Get a grip. They fired their coach, not your best friend or wife or husband. Blatt still gets paid, is still respected and will find another job. It didn’t work out. Cavs are trying something new that hopefully is better. I’m surprised by the timing. I’d rather he was fired before or after the season. But otherwise I don’t see what Blatt brought to the table that was so incredible he deserves this outpouring of angst. I’m thinking his could make the Cavs stronger. It could also kill the season. But as sunshine bear. I’m going with we… Read more »
Don’t care that they fired Blatt, but the context of it and the timing, wow it makes this organization look terrible. This is the type of thing that could have long term consequences in terms of future hiring possibilities. Pretty much all the coaches who have been talked to by the media have been up in arms. This is not a good way to manage a championship caliber team. Panic move, should have waited til the offseason and allowed whatever to happen happen in the playoffs.
“Word circulated to cleveland.com that Blatt had trouble drawing up plays out of timeouts. He would freeze up and waste precious seconds, one player said. He would even draw up plays for players who weren’t in the game, another player said”
Yikes!!
From day 1, the CtB gang have pointed out how lame the post time out plays are. That was no secret.
Let’s all chill for a bit. The firing stung and the timing made no sense. But we just don’t know about the locker room stuff or trade rumors. I know some of the “sources” hit the mark but now everyone with a name is just dumping opinions into the mix too.
Sources: Behind the scenes developments that led to #Cavs firing David Blatt and promoting Tyronn Lue — New Column:
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2016/01/why_david_blatt_got_fired_and.html
Good article. Pretty damning, too. It would be nice if guys could be adults, but hope this change is for the better…
Huh, the kind of bus-throwing-under I expected from the media that the Cavs can rely on to spin their narrative.
Definitely a bit of unsurprising bus throwing here…
Right… first, they expect me to believe an NBA basketball can’t draw up an inbounds play? My junior high coach was drunk at games and could still pull something out of his ass… how stupid do they think we are?
What’s hilarious is McMenamin just tweeted about how good Blatt’s inbound sets were… I guess the media can’t keep their story straight.
Secondly, they want to simultaneously blame Blatt for a lack of strategy while at the same time say Lue ran the team??? Which one is it?
Thanks for link! A little more was tale telling . What stood out to me more than the sheer pettiness was they seem like they were just waiting for a BigF’up from Blatt. Their minds were made up long before the season began that they wanted Lue instead. Griffin was not impressed with Blatt after the Finals which I find amazing. I’m wondering now if he surprised them a “little” when Cavs did better than expected without Kyrie and Shump losing the window to fire him then. Who knows? One thing for sure is the players did not like the… Read more »
I’m starting to lose confidence in this team. I’m sure many of you will be very upset about this. I’ve tried to remain positive through all of the downs, But with everything I’ve heard about today, I just don’t see it getting better. Maybe, just maybe, if we don’t trade Love, we can get some semblance of team “chemistry”. Sorry C6H12O2. But I can’t imagine Lue will employ an offensive strategy more sophisticated than Doc Rivers. Many of us here on C:tB have even stated that an offense like that cannot beat a team like GS or SA.
Not that you care about my opinions specifically but that there might be yet another naysayer here…
From what I gather, Blatt leaned on Lue quite a bit. I don’t think Lue is coming in cold. He’ll be okay. It’d have to be a pretty awful coach or some horrendous trades to stop this team from rolling into the ECF and in my opinion, the finals.
Im worried about Love to be honest. I don’t want them to blow it up.
I hope the Cavs don’t go back to running ISO’s on offense most of the games. I really liked the way they played offense the last 2 outings.
That isn’t up to Lue, isn’t it?
Lol. Best comment I have read.
Apparently Brendan Haywood said the players throughout Blatt’s offense most of the time and ran Doc River sets through Lue. Anyone still optimistic about these players, Lue, or this organization? Hmm, me thinks no changes will be coming to the hot garbage sets or lack there of that they were running.
Threw out, sorry for the typo.
There goes the championship. Griffin will be fired at the end of the season.
I don’t get the firing but I also don’t get how every blogger on here seems to have played on a championship NBA team and worked in the front office of championship level anything. And the idea that is circulating that the players don’t like Lebron is because YOU don’t like Lebron.
Griffin has a perfect melancholy personality…he searches for words. Not because he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Lebron is not easy to play with just like Kobe and MJ weren’t. Quit acting like ya’ll have been there done that.
I’m sorry should we not react and have an opinion?
I’m reacting to your opinion.
Sorry I don’t buy in just because a franchise that hasn’t won squat makes its annual move of firing a coach, and tells me that they are making the right decision. Reminds me of another Cleveland franchise. But also doesn’t mean I’m rooting for it not to work out. I hope it does. I’m just skeptical. They need to prove me wrong.
Also if you’re responding to only my comments, I never said the players didn’t like LeBron, nor did I say that I don’t. So don’t know where that came from.
It’s a narrative that’s been circulating and I haven’t responded to any of your comments…you responded to mine
Well you just said you were responding to my opinion.
It was the formal you, as in you all, because you said “we”
Here’s another Windy interview https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/golden-boyz/id916983474?mt=2#episodeGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fsports.espn.go.com%2Fespnradio%2Fpodcast%3Fid%3D14629068
Here is my open letter to Tyronn Lue, who now has the toughest job in the NBA:…
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2016/01/dear_tyronn_lue_the_cleveland.html
— Terry Pluto
The ironic thing in all this is that Lebron, once again, has Gilbert by the testicles. And there isn’t a thing he can do about it . . . but trade him for another superstar. Unfortunately, Pop wouldn’t trade Kawhi straight up for him.
https://www.facebook.com/MichaelRapaportOfficial/videos/938024862948863/
This is so typical of Cleveland sports’ teams management it is it almost laughable if it wasn’t so idiotic. Championship organizations would never do this. Whether Blatt was a good coach or not doesn’t matter. The fact that they did this now means no top tier coach will ever come here no matter how much money Gilbert throws at them because it confirms that he is a terrible owner who hires terrible decision makers (Griffin) and doesn’t have the balls to back up his coaches. This move reeks of desperation, incompetence, and weakness. Sums up the Cavs organization as a… Read more »
I think you are 100% correct. I have never heard any player, coach, or staff member say that Blatt doesn’t understand the game or isn’t a great game planner. If the players aren’t following his system, that’s got to fall on the locker room leader. I don’t know much about Lue, but I’ve never heard anyone call him a basketball genius, as many have called Blatt. I guess we’ll see, but I’m not optimistic.
Hello?? The Cavs want to win. What in the world are you talking about? Are you high?
To win they need LeBron. So they appease LeBron, even if it might hurt their chances of winning.
All this talk about Lebron calling the shots in Cleveland, fair or not, will leave a stain on his resume when all is said and done. Kinda like Kobe.
His resume is littered with stains at this point. The only way he changes his legacy is to win a title here. There is more pressure than ever.
its funny how people are in denial that this was NOT a Lebron decision when everything revolving around the Cavs is a Lebron decision….he didn’t like Blatt, loved Lue and here we are…honestly the pressure is on the team to win it all or this thing gets blown up fast and Lebron is basically the Wilt Chamberlin of our generation…a coach killer who puts up great stats but never wins enough titles like the other great ones….why didn’t Steph Curry rip luke walton when Kerr was out? cuz players don’t do that crap…play like a team trust the coach and… Read more »
Exactly. Why do you think Lue instaneously got a three year contract? Lebron ordered it. I lost some respect for Griffin before today. Firing Blatt is something he had to do . . . but dude, Lebron IS calling the shots. Last year you said that Blatt wasn’t going anywhere.
Also LeBron ordered those guys to find a ninth planet this week. Good thing they listened!
I knew that Blatt would one day be gone the night I saw Lebron push him away from a ref. The night Lebron threw the ball at him. We hear talk about players not liking Blatt. The reason the mood on the team is sour is that the players don’t like the way Lebron is running the show and Blatt couldn’t do anything about it. It’s not that the players don’t like Blatt. I don’t think they like Lebron. How else in the world could the locker room environment be this sour on a 30-11 team . . . when… Read more »
You make a great point. The players may have a problem with Lebron, but they can’t say it. Maybe Lue can stand up to him. I hope so. Somebody has to.
That would make more sense than the bizarre narrative “Blatt must go because they are not galvanized after wins” How much celebration did Griffin think they would have killing the Suns or 76ers ?
Cav’s front office is like that girl who breaks up with you because you didn’t take her to a better than 5 star restaurant….when last week you were dining at Taco Bell and watching Netflix.
Not sure I’m following your analogy…
i am always one for creative association but i am at a loss here on the taco beel and netflix. i get the 5 star though.
You’re like that person who comes across like a front runner and has nothing meaningful to add to any conversations outside the vacuum of hubris you live within.
.@SherwoodStrauss brings this up: folks who praise Blatt’s Finals ignore him playing Kyrie till his knee exploded
You mean the fractured knee cap that was due to a collision?
Haha yeah… Good ole Sherwood Forest!!!!
It’s Sherwood.
Bound to happen.
Yeah, and Steph’s ankle sprains were all coaches fault, too. Really can’t stand Strauss.
Clearly Gilbert’s decision. Griffin gets paid to fall on the sword. Just listen to the circular logic in that press conference. Next person going down will be him.
Lots of people are going down if this season doesn’t end in a championship.
And watch Griffin’s squirming, long pauses, throat-clearing, and defensive body language.
Yes, and once again Lebron has Gilbert by the testicles.
Charles Barkley on David Blatt firing: ‘The Cavaliers set him up for failure’
WATCH: on.nba.com/20jRIkK
Gotta love Charles. On what Griffin said about the team not dealing with prosperity: “I have no idea what that means.”
Fake reason to fire Blatt without really telling why as an attempt to look better throughout the NBA. It didn’t work. Many NBA coaches speaking out against the firing. They smell a rat given the Cavs record. It just isn’t a good look no matter what spin Griffin puts on it.
Get some Oxygen!!! The plan is to win the NBA, not show Blatt a nice time in Cleveland! What are you guys smoking?
Funny Tweet: Love tried to defend the firing of Coach Blatt, but the news came in the form of a pick and roll.
That was hilarious. Well played,
Hope everything goes well for Coach Blatt in whatever he decides to do with his life in the near future. At the other hand I always thought that he was a soft coach and maybe not the right coach to get this team to reach their full potential.
IMO it was a bit unprofessional to hire Lue to a three year deal right after you fire your current coach. Just Just saying.
It really is. Almost as snaky as the Jason Kidd going to Bucks debacle. It feels like some backstabbing took place here just on that act alone so quick.
Nice job, Cleveland. Bowing down to the “King” and letting him run your front office…maybe Lebron moves up there after the Cavs lose in the finals, who knows? This was such a selfish move by Cleveland’s prodigal son. Lebron didn’t like coach, so fire coach. And Blatt wasn’t even that bad of a coach (he did find a way to carve out 2 wins in the finals without both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love). This was not about winning a championship, this was about making Lebron happy. First the move to get rid of a great talent like Andrew Wiggins… Read more »
Skolnick and Lloyd have both reported roster-wide discontentment with Blatt, going back to last season. Blaming LeBron solely for this, with little to no evidence, doesn’t seem fair to me. Also, without LeBron, where would this team be? Have you forgotten how well he played last postseason?
But the issue I am raising is bigger than just this firing or Lebron’s discontent. Lebron has never had a coach who really pushed him to the brink and demanded more. Why do you think Kobe, Magic and MJ all won 5-6 championships??? Because their coaches were relentless in the pursuit of perfection. I don’t think it is by coincidence that Lebron has never had a demanding coach like Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Greg Popovich. He doesn’t want a guy who will push him in practice and challenge his game. That is the difference between winning multiple championships and not.… Read more »
Actually, it’s completely by coincidence… every coach he’s ever had (minus Mike Brown) was already in place when he arrived to the team…
You say that like anybody but Dan Gilbert, David Griffin and LeBron would be responsible… it’s not “Cleveland’s” fault…
But isn’t Cleveland = Lebron James??? I thought he owned the city.
Not the last time I checked… plenty of people in Cleveland could care less about LeBron, NBA basketball or sports in general…
my wife and her mother are 2 clevelanders who hate sports, the culture and the drama fans create behind winning. that said, i think lbj’s reality show will have a better financial impact on cleveland that a title should they win. i am no financial engineer so take that into account first
Here’s the thing, if there is discontent in the locker room, shouldn’t the locker room leader nip it in the bud and get everyone on the same page. Isn’t the best chance for a title for everyone to buy in? Why didn’t Lebron exert his considerable influence and be Blatt’s biggest supporter?
Sorry, Frampton, but most Cavs fans would rather win than give Blatt a fair deal.
Now that all the players stories are coming out, the common thread is that Leu would call out LeBron at meetings and practice, and Blatt never would. Assuming that is true, this move could not have come too soon.
Does Aaron Goldhammers face displayed on ESPN the most punchable face you’ve ever seen?
Pretty much anyone that shows up on ESPN has a punchable face.
They only hire people with punchable faces… it’s a pre-requisite…
Only 2 coaches have taken over mid-season and won the championship. Pat Riley and Paul Westhead.
Right, and believe me Tyronne Lue is no Pat Riley.
He would be if he grew back the cornrows… /s
And loses the socks.
Well, I sure hope Lue stands up to Lebron, then. Benches him when he loafs, criticizes him in the press when his play sucks.
Ugh. Its just so stupid. I don’t understand human beings sometimes. I mean, if a vet has a problem about not playing on christmas, talk to the coach directly and find out why. Blatt’s a man, he’ll tell you. If Mo and RJ don’t get run, its because they’re not that good.
Well, that is the reason why Lebron is 2-4 in NBA finals. He can’t take the coaching or criticism needed to win a championship. At least guys like Kobe, Magic and Michael Jordan learned to take the criticism from their head coaches to become better. Lebron is just too sensitive to take any negative feedback from coaches.
To play devil’s advocate though… Kobe, Magic and MJ won championships with all-timers like Riley and Jackson as their coaches…
That’s the concern. Lue isn’t Riley or Jackson. If anything, Blatt was much closer to those guys based on his reputation. I think he didn’t assert himself enough, at times, because he was trying to feel out the NBA player-centric game and not cause disconnect. Probably he’ll learn from it and be successful at his next stop.
Although Lue at least played the game… just like Riley and Jackson… and unlike Blatt… I know I’ve heard that sentiment echoed in various corners…
To play devil’s advocate back, Riley and Jackson weren’t all-timers when they became head coaches. Would LeBron have given them the same chance that Magic and MJ did?
Head Coach of Portland Terry Stotts – I think I said this about a week ago, very few things in this league surprise me. A coach who goes to the NBA Finals and a team on pace to win 60 games and they’re released. Kevin McHale goes to the Conference Finals and he gets fired. I know the decision makers for every organization think they are making the best choice for the franchise. But from the outside, sometimes it’s hard to understand.
Yeah and look at the ROckets now. Look at Nets after firing. (prob not best example) Look at Denver after George Carl fired. Are Bulls as tough now after Thibs firing? This seems like a knee jerk reaction and I am concerned the team will slide.
I think they will. Maybe they’ll eventually get out of it, but I’ll be surprised if they beat the Bulls tomorrow.
Am I crazy? I thought the job Blatt did last year was exceptional, the way he incorporated all those moving parts and adapted on the fly. And this year? I can’t see how coaching blunders cost them games. Certainly coaching wasn’t the problem in the Warriors shellacking. That was all piss poor play by the players who know more than their coach.
I think just the opposite… I think they’ll crush the Bulls tomorrow, and guys will play harder than they’ve played all year… if for no other reason than to try and prove they were right…
You might be right. But I’m not so sure that a lot of the players actually like him. Love, Moz, Kyrie, and J.R. all seemed to connect with him. Maybe I’m wrong. Its going to feel crummy either way. If the Cavs take off and win the title, I’ll feel bad for Blatt who seemed like a good coach and good person who got a raw deal. If we fall apart, I’ll be pissed at such a stupid decisioni.
Its just another reminder that we don’t control anything and its crazy to get so invested in professional athletes jumping around.
I agree about thumping the Bulls. It’s the weeks after that will show whether anything has actually changed. Color me skeptical — will LeBron finally stop being stubborn, for maybe the second time in his life?
And JoeyB, I agree with you about Blatt doing a great job last year. I’m surprised by all the comments on here about how he was a meh coach. But by tomorrow we’ll probably start hearing that it was really Lue who did all that adapting and changed the team’s identity on the fly in the playoffs.
NBA Countdown is on. I’m sure they will talk about Blatt.
“This is not an indictment of David Blatt as a coach,” Griffin said of the firing. “And it’s not to say that Ty Lue is a better basketball coach. He’s a better basketball coach for this team today.” Total and utter B.S. by Griffin. After all the talk now coming to light, I still have no idea why he was fired. I don’t understand how Griff can think that replacing coaches in the middle of this season will have drastically different results than keeping him. Its not like we’re brining in popovich. Lue has never been a head coach at… Read more »
The players don’t like Blatt and Love is underperforming (by the eyeball not advanced statistics metrics that most people employ). These seem to be the two reasons. Unless Love gets traded and then I have no idea.
I would love to have this conversation with my wife as I introduce her to her young replacement “this is not an indictment of you as a wife. And it’s not to say that Melania is a better wife. She’s a better wife for me today.”
Can I have your wife’s number?
What Cleveland did is called having “rich people problems”. That is when you have so much going for you that the biggest issue is whether your children will end up going to Princeton or Harvard. Or that your wife is pissed because you only spend $50k on her new diamond ring instead of the required $100k.
This section of comments is enough to make Cols give up pot.
Carlisle adds: “I’m embarrassed for our league that something like this could happen.”
Add Carlisle on Blatt: “The other side of this is a good man has been liberated.”
Carlisle calls David Blatt’s firing “a shocker.” “I know integrity. I know knowledge … David Blatt is going to be a sought-after coach.”
– Brad Townsend
Carlisle is an ‘NBA guy’ though…makes you wonder why the Cavs didn’t buy into ‘NBA guy’ Byron Scott when he was here, since that is of prime importance.
DO you have a link for Carlisle’s comments? i love Carlisle.
There were pulled from Brad Townsend’s Twitter account. He seems to be a beat reporter for the Mavs.
Wow. I love this. I really really like Blatt the man. I hope he gets another chance. And I hope Lue works for us.
There are more coaches coming out to Blatt’s defense. He is like the 3rd or 4th one so far.
Lue had better win the finals. Because there are not a lot of coaches who are going to want to work for Griffin now. I can’t believe the Browns are the no longer the most toxic work environment in this town.
Yeah… like Mike Brown… /s
Uh, You think Griff will be back if the Cavs don’t win a championship?
Joey, are you tripping? There are a million coaches who would love to be an NBA head coach if Donald Trump was the GM. You don’t think any coach of a sub .500 team would not jump to the Cavs?
Rick Carlisle is fuming over Blatts firing.
Any coach would. This totally bucks the norm and belittles the efforts coaches put in.
I can’t stand what I’m hearing about all this. I can’t stand this team any more. Literally, lacking some serious amounts of character.
Just wait till they bring in KEEF!
The same people who are the most angry about the locker room shit are the same people who are clamoring to bring in Morris. That’s not gonna make it better.
He’s super good at throwing towels though…
I have never supported the idea of bringing in Markief Morris and I never will. But seemingly from what it’s been like in this Cavs locker room, he would fit right in.
I actually do hope that they bring in Morris now that I think about it. Yea, bring him in and let him be the tipping point for blowing this team to smithereens.
Griffin focused on the Cavs didn’t respond to wins the same way as the Suns. They were not galvanized after wins. Didn’t handle prosperity? What? What did he want? Blatt to make players hold hands after wins and sing Kumbaya? This is just stupid reasons. I’d rather hear a lie. Look, they wanted Lue is the bottom line and it was a well planned coup.
Now, Griffin saying the players didn’t meet expectations and were too individualized made sense. But that touchy , feely stuff is a smoke screen .
Yeah Griff gets real philosophical sometimes. I’m never ready for it.
The Chris Grant of philosophy if you will.
Oh yes I remember….. wonderful human being or wonderful human lol
I thought that was weird too. If he meant they coasted, just say so. But still, is that a firing offense?
I think he was trying to not say anything harsh about what he sees as the real problem with the coach.
Uh, you heard the lie.
The cake is a lie…
Ah, a Portal player ;)
You know it!
Sports-talk radio in LA is already talking about bringing in Blatt to coach the young Lakers. They really do like Cavs cast-off coaches, don’t they? Third time a charm?
It will only work without a controlling Kobe.
He’s retiring after this year anyway.
Can’t imagine they’d hire Blatt over Luke Walton…
Players didn’t like Blatt… Players were upset that Mo and RJ didn’t play on Christmas…
If half of this stuff is true, the Cavs’ players and locker room sound like basically your nightmare version of high school.
How completely unsurprising. You bring in Lebron, you will win, but you also bring in the circus.
I know right?! Like petulant children… gives trolls who say “Queen” James more fire unfortunately.
I added my conversation on Dayton Sports Scene this afternoon.
Figured in LUE of it’s own post I’d just add it to this one…
Here is the link you requested http://espn.go.com/espnradio/playPopup?id=14628263
So droll it hurts, well played.
LOL Lue coaching the All-star game with his 3 weeks experience as HC
He will have coached as many games this season as the West coach will have. ;)
That fact will be an all time “answer to a trivia question”.