David Blatt reached the NBA Finals in his first year as Cavaliers coach, then led Cleveland to the best record in the Eastern Conference for the first half of his second season. And for that, he has been fired, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.
Cleveland has fired coach David Blatt, sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 22, 2016
This is a pretty huge shocker considering the Cavs’ 30-11 record on the season and Blatt’s 83-40 record as coach. Sure Cleveland has looked flat at times, but everything has basically gone according to the plan of “get healthy, not kill each other and cruise to the NBA Finals” in an Eastern Conference that lacks any real competition for the top spot.
Blatt’s firing must have to do with relationships with his stars. He and LeBron James butted heads last year, but the situation appeared to be under control. Something must have gone wrong behind the scenes for LeBron and the rest of the Cavs to have turned on their coach.
Either that or the Cavs looked at their 0-3 record against San Antonio and Golden State this year and got worried about their chances in the NBA Finals.
Wojnarowski also reported that associate head coach Tyronn Lue will take over, not just as interim coach, but as full-time headman with a multi-year deal.
Assistant Ty Lue has agreed to a multi-year deal as new Cavaliers head coach, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 22, 2016
Lue, who played 11 NBA seasons for seven teams, has no head coaching experience in the league but is considered a rising star on the sidelines. Really, the most important thing any Cavs coach can do is get along with LeBron, and Lue has been reported to have a strong relationship with Number 23, who almost certainly had some say in the coaching change.
One thing to say for the Cavs – even in first place, they never leave us wanting for drama.
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