Did LeBron Do Blatt In? Cavs’ Head Coach Firing Has Markings Of Van Gundy-Howard Orlando Feud Back In The Day
What happened in Cleveland would never occur in a non-sport business, but the Dwight Howard Syndrome is in effect.
On Friday, LeBron James’ head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, David Blatt, got the boot after his second season with the team. His top associate coach, Tyronn “Ty” Lue, was promoted to head the Cavs, reportedly with a three-year contract. The dollar figure was not discussed, according to Yahoo Sports.
Something’s wrong with this picture, right? With Blatt at the helm, Cleveland took a trip to the NBA Finals in 2015 during the coach’s first year and James’ return. To make matters about his firing more suspicious, Cleveland now leads the Eastern Conference with a 30-11 record, according to Basketball-Reference.
Here’s the biggest head-scratcher of them all: LeBron and company have a.732 win percentage this season. Why did Blatt get canned? Hold up. Before you answer that, consider this: According to an ESPN live broadcast on the breaking news, it’s the highest win percentage “at the time of a coach being replaced in major professional sports.”
In other words, that’s the record of champions. With numbers like that, job security is assured for a little while longer. But, not so for Blatt. Apparently, something else was at play. Call it what it is. Top-performing coaches (on paper) just don’t get fired — period.
It’s worth mentioning that most of the social media and the NBA pundit establishment agree LeBron James had his hand in Cleveland canning Blatt, the league’s first Israeli coach. But, for some bizarre reason, Cavs’ general manager David Griffin, who at least admitted there existed a locker room “disconnect” and “lack of spirit” with Blatt, slammed rumors about LeBron being “consulted” before the ouster.
So, he wants us to believe that the several episodes caught on camera of James seemingly tossing shade at Blatt weren’t a cause?
Less than 24 hours after the news broke, James addressed the media and denied he was involved.
“That’s not my concern,” James said. “I found out about it just like every other player on this team at 3:30 yesterday…. I think [Griffin] was right on everything he said…. Like it or love it or hate it, we got to respect it.”
LeBron James says he was “surprised” by firing of David Blatt https://t.co/G9pVDzg8rH pic.twitter.com/IXs3k5jxaI
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 23, 2016
Sounds familiar? Let’s roll the tape back to April of 2012.
During the pre-game shootaround, where the Magic would go on to lose to the New York Knicks by 16 points, then-coach Stan Van Gundy addressed rumors about Dwight Howard wanting him fired.
“I was told it was true by people in our management. So right from the top.”
The next moments were awkward, and that’s putting it lightly. Unbeknownst to Van Gundy, Howard sachets after being within earshot of the media frenzy.
“Stan, we’re not worried about that, right?”
“That’s what I just said. We’ve got to be worried about,” Van Gundy responded before politely excusing himself to let Howard have his say. And, like LeBron did days ago after David Blatt’s firing, Howard took the high road and offered a similar response.
“Whatever happens at the end of the season is not under my control. I am a player for the Magic. I am not the GM. I am not [owner] Rich DeVos. I am not [president] Alex Martins. That is not my job…. I haven’t said anything to anybody about anything.
“I woke up just like you did yesterday, and I saw all of a sudden I want Stan out of here. Why would I want Stan to be fired with 12 games left in the season? Who’s going to be the coach?”
In all fairness to LeBron and David, the public can only speculate on what led to the shakeup in an organization poised to earn another trip the Finals. But, if we’re pragmatic about the matter, star athletes run businesses, whether people like Griffin admit it or not. It’s one of the few places where the boss earns considerably less than his or her direct reports. Honest to goodness, LeBron had “nothing” to do with Blatt’s dismissal (wink).
#LebronJames‘s dark side is exposed on #DavidBlatt‘s firing. A must-read article!https://t.co/GVj6yZsWAv pic.twitter.com/k1jStD02Zi
— P. Karhu (@PelotonKarhu) January 23, 2016
No, friends; what happened with the Cleveland Cavaliers wouldn’t happen at Facebook with Zuckerberg, Microsoft with Gates, Tesla with Musk or Amazon with Bezos. But, at the end of the day, marquee players sell tickets and fill stadiums — not diminutive coaches.
Rick Carlisle, head coach of the Dallas Mavericks and NBA Coaches Association president, doesn’t buy all of Griffin’s reasons for parting company with Blatt and perceiving him as a pariah of Cleveland.
“Teams have a right to make changes, but David Blatt is going to be a highly sought-after coach this summer if and when there are openings — if he chooses to stay. You know, after this, you just hope a guy like this is still open to coaching in the NBA… I’m embarrassed for our league that something like this could happen like this. It’s just bizarre.”
Well said, coach.
[Images via AP Photo/LM Otero/Matt Slocum]
