The Cleveland Cavaliers made a somewhat (but not really) surprising move when they fired head coach David Blatt this past season. Blatt led the team to a 30-11 start, but due to many circumstances, lost his job.
This led GM David Griffin to hire assistant Tyronn Lue as his successor, and as we well know, he led the team to their first NBA title, and the first championship for the city of Cleveland in over five decades.
Despite the unfortunate split, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reports that the Cavaliers will be giving Blatt a ring:
David Blatt is getting one more parting gift from the Cavaliers: a championship ring.
Blatt was fired at the midpoint of the Cavs’ championship season, but the team has ordered a ring for him, too, multiple sources confirmed to the Beacon Journal. He is now the head coach of Darüsşafaka Doğuş in Turkey.
One of the main reasons for Blatt’s firing was because the team reportedly lacked chemistry, and had no unity. That reportedly changed after he left, and it certainly looked like they were much more of a complete unit during their playoff run.
There’s no doubt Blatt had a hand in what got the Cavaliers to a title, but it seems like an odd gesture considering the circumstances. It’s cool to get a championship ring, but it has to feel somewhat bad because of how things ended.