By Raedan Goldblum ’18
Former Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach David Blatt was fired on Friday, January 22nd 2016. After leading the Cavs to a 30-11 record and the top spot in the Eastern Conference, Cavs GM David Griffin and the front office made the decision to release Blatt. Griffin described Blatt’s relationship and method for coaching the team as “lacking fit with our personnel and our vision.” Four days prior to Blatt’s firing, the Cavaliers suffered on of the worst home losses ever to the reigning NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors. Almost a week before that, the Cavaliers also lost to the San Antonio Spurs, who currently hold the second-best record in the NBA. After these losses, the Cavaliers organization felt that Blatt did not have the skill or ability to lead the Cavs past the two best teams in the NBA. Combined with the probability that the Cavaliers will face one of these teams in June, the Cavs felt the need to make an immediate change.
Along with the two important regular season losses, reports have surfaced that players did not see eye-to-eye with Blatt. Players often had trouble communicating with Blatt and have said that he would often freeze up during a timeout, wasting precious seconds. Former Cavalier player Brendan Hayward said that Blatt was “scared of LeBron” and that he “couldn’t help the team.” Not only did Hayward question Blatt’s coaching, but it was also rumored that few players had true respect for David Blatt during his time in Cleveland. Speculation immediately rose following the firing of Blatt when people accused LeBron James of being a ‘coach killer’, and called him out for being the main cause of Blatt’s firing. However, James came out with a statement stating that he was “just as surprised” as the rest of his teammates. After January 22nd, Blatt joins Byron Scott and Gene Shue as the only coaches to be fired after making an appearance in the Finals in the past 40 seasons. Following Blatt’s firing, the Cavaliers hired former Assistant Coach Tyronn Lue to a 3-year $9.5 million contract. Lue, who is widely respected by the current Cavalier roster, has experience under legendary coaches such as Doc Rivers and Phil Jackson, and may be the perfect guy for the Cavaliers. Lue made his NBA coaching debut on January 23rd, one day after his hiring. The Cavs fell to the Bulls that night at Quicken Loans Arena, leaving some questions about Lue’s new strategy for the Cavaliers. After the loss, Lue said that the players were out of shape, and intends to instill a new “fast-paced” offense. Questions still remain about whether Lue will be the key to help the Cavs improve offensively and defensively, and only time will tell if he has what it takes to lead this team to an NBA championship.