I think Lebron has said before he prefers ex-players to be his coach. He doesn't like coaches who have never played the game.
Blatt is a genius-level coach that should have no problem getting another job. He deserves better than this. Shame he couldn't fit in Cleveland. If he's not scooped up the Rockets should take a good long look.
ever since lebron chose to return to cle, the way he did it,,, and ever since he called blatt a mf, and called plays for himself ignoring his coach's call and then went ahead telling everyone on tv... he's lost a lot of respect from me. says a lot what has gone wrong, imo, in the nba.
Pops had the luxury of having a coachable superstar that was young and impressionable in Duncan when he started coaching. Also had Robinson who was another boy scout. Pops had a lot of time to learn and correct his mistakes with those 2 as the leaders of the team. It would have taken a lot for Pops to lose those 2 guys and therefore lose the team.
Pop had knuckleheads like Stephen Jackson and made it work. Once Jax decided he was going to rebel Pop axed him
Because I have a brain? Blatt is 100x the coach Lue is, he has credibility and a proven track record of excellence in Europe. Yeah Europe is not the NBA but a guy who has delivered in Europe is way better than a neophyte. Lue only started coaching in 2013 when he joined the Clippers coaching staff. Rudy T, Phil Jackson, JB, Spoelstra etc. these guys spent years on assistant coaching teams before they got their coaching gig so comparing them to Lue is just silly, those guys have put in the work as an assistant, Lue hasn't. Unless Lue turned out to be some kind of genius, 2 years as an assistant coach does not equip you with the X-n-Os to be an NBA coach, see Mchale. Of course you can argue Mchale did reasonably well as a head coach, but the thing is Mchale is more of a symbolic head coach, JB and the assistants did the actual coaching and Mchale was the overseer. Lue can do that as well, but he doesn't have Mchale's reputation and credibility which is why Mchale was effective in his role whereas Lue is totally useless. Mchale had also developed a reputation for being extremely smart as a player who understood the nuances on the court. Lue was average as a player and didn't really strike me as someone who had amazing playmaking skills. The Cavs aren't some rookie team that a guy like Lue can cut his teeth on, they are a contender on a limited window and need to win as many rings as possible in the shortest amount of time. With a team full of vets and players in their prime an established coach or a guy like Blatt who has a proven track record makes sense than a guy who only started coaching in 2012. It boggles my mind you and prof J can't wrap your heads around this concept and just accept the fact it was a $$$ move rather than the move of someone serious about winning a ring. Maybe Lue can eventually be the type of coach to lead you to the promised land, but that's still years away as Lue can only be barely qualified to be on the bench, much less be the actual head coach. Unless LBJ had a master plan to win a ring 3-5 years from now, firing Blatt only to replace him with Lue is like throwing away your car because it sucks only to get a Jalopy from the 1970s or whatever. Why downgrade for no reason?
SJ was a role player who fell in line with the rest of the Spurs, again with choir boy leaders like Duncan, Robinson, Manu, and Parker it was the culture there to be good boys and listen to Pops. SJ's 2nd stint which I think you are referring to, Pops was firmly entrenched with his my way or the highway system.
Looks like a good chunk of that is coaching as well, but who knows what was going on behind the scenes and how badly Blatt neutered by Lebron, management, and ownership. Some people are calling for Blatt to be the Rockets coach, but from this video I don't see Blatt being able to reach a guy like Harden. He falls into the same ruts that Lebron falls into in the half court offense. Blatt may have some amazing X's and O's but he was never able to get the star on board which ultimately he had to do. Further, it seems he never created a coherent defensive system that his players could follow. The video seems to continually point out players being out of position and failing to make the proper rotation or quit reaching all the time. This is on the coach. Another issue is the team is majorly flawed with Kevin Love, but we already know that.
Yes it looks like Blatt can do a good job with the like of Curry and Duncan. But it's doubtful at this point that he can control a guy like Lebron or Harden
I tuned in to the cavs game for a second Delly > kyrie Look. Kyrie can is a good scorer. But who cares? You already got Lebron James on your team. Kyrie is a terrible point guard, he's a terrible rebounder, he's terrible on defense, and he's a terrible leader. He blew a wide open layup and was laughing about it. As soon as Delly steps back onto the floor the whole team works. Defense is better. Delly is lobbing it to TT. Delly is hitting it from downtown n getting steals. Best thing to ever happen to the cavs last year was kyrie and love getting hurt. they should trade them both and get a ton of value for them
Which doesn't necessarily translate to the NBA, and he certainly hasn't looked impressive in Cleveland. FYI, Kerr had no coaching experience before he won a title with GS last year. I don't believe Kidd had any coaching experience before he started coaching. Have you ever considered that playing in the NBA can be kinda valuable when trying to coach others to do the same?
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Had a feeling Pop would bring this up...Man...The Cavs GM is rightfully getting roasted for his trigger happy firing of a really good coach.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova says 'I'm always going to be grateful' to David Blatt "Coach [David] Blatt was huge for me,"Dellavedova told cleveland.com. "He gave me a great opportunity. He really believed in me and 100 percent supported me. It was really great for my career, so I'm always going to be appreciative for what he did for me." Most young players aren't given that opportunity, especially on a team with championship ambitions. Blatt saw something in Dellavedova that scouts and front office personnel didn't: a diamond in the rough. He played his guard and gave him an expanded backup role. People criticized Blatt for over utilizing Dellavedova, but coach stayed the course and "Delly Mania" was soon created. He's now one of the most popular players on this star-studded team. His game has improved dramatically from his outside shooting, to his playmaking, to his defensive presence. All it took was for someone with power and influence to see something in him. "He gave me a lot of opportunities and really believed in me," Dellavedva said. "He allowed me to play with a lot of confidence and be myself out there. I'm always going to be grateful for that. You have to be lucky enough to get that opportunity, but then you also have to make sure you've put in the work. I'm thankful." Dellavedova said he was "definitely shocked" to learn his coach was being let go. The two shared a bond and had many special memorable moments during intense battles. Blatt may have moved on, but the Cavaliers continue to reap the benefits of his nurturing and tutelage. His point guard is forever grateful. "I would talk to him a lot during the games and off," Dellavedova said. "Just in general, he's a great person. I'm sure our paths will cross again because the basketball world is a small world. He was good for me." http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2016/01/cleveland_cavaliers_guard_matt_3.html
When Blatt was asked if he would anything different during his time with the Cavs, He responded by saying he regretted he didn't do this ... more often during the timeouts with Lebron in the huddle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmlXPip1D1Q
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Miami Heat part-owner Raanan Katz said LeBron had Blatt fired. In same breath: "He tried the same with Spo, but failed."</p>— David Pick (@IAmDPick) <a href="https://twitter.com/IAmDPick/status/692064760595095552">January 26, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Steve Kerr won a championship his first year. He won multiple championships as a player, worked with Pop, had experience as a GM...I get that. But this year while he was out with his hip injury they replaced him with Luke Walton, who had pretty much the same career and credentials as Lue, and he got them off to the best start in NBA history. Well constructed teams can handle coaching changes. The Cavs will likely not collapse under Lue and may very well reach the finals again.
