Cavaliers Fire David Blatt

Cavaliers fire David Blatt

CLEVELAND, OH — The Cleveland Cavaliers, leaders of the Eastern Conference, fired their head coach David Blatt Friday. It was announced assistant coach Ty Lue would take over in the capacity of head coach; not, interestingly, as an interim head coach, but as the head coach for the remainder of his newly signed contract (rumored to be three years).

The move is a curious one; in his only full season as a head coach, Blatt guided the Cavaliers to a NBA Finals appearance, while guiding them to an East-leading 30-11 record the first 41 games of this season. Certainly there were no outside indications that Blatt was on the hot seat; a 34 point loss to the Golden State Warriors was embarrassing, but hardly cause for a mid-season head coaching change.

Then again, Blatt was a curious choice for a head coach of a newly formed super-team to begin with. Though a successful coach overseas with powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, Blatt had no NBA experience as a coach or a player. In his press statement, GM Brian David Griffen cited a “lack of fit with our personnel and our vision”, a somewhat eyebrow raising statement, given how well the Cavs seem to be playing despite only recently getting star point guard Kyrie Irving back.

The player-and-sometimes-de-facto-GM, LeBron James, has long cited a desire to be coached by a former player, a qualification Blatt did not check off. Ty Lue, however, does, having played eleven seasons in the NBA addition to having been an assistant coach (with both the Celtics and Clippers, in addition to the Cavaliers) for the better part of the last five years. Could LeBron have pulled the strings to get a coach he feels more comfortable with? It’s entirely possible, as James continues to hold his 2016 player option over the heads of Cavaliers brass.