The Cleveland Cavs shocked everyone by firing head coach David Blatt on Friday with the team sporting the Eastern Conference's best record (30-11) at the 2015-16 NBA season's halfway point. Associate head coach Tyronn Lue has switched chairs with Blatt on a multi-year deal, leading to a ton of reaction (and new details) from around the league. We're here to give you the latest with our Cavs Rumors Roundup for the night of Friday, January 22nd.
Looking Into The Locker Room
Conflicting reports have emerged all day long about both the reaction to the Blatt firing and superstar LeBron James' role in the decision.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (who initially broke the firing news), James and his agent have been pushing for Tyronn Lue to take over as head coach since the middle of the 2014-15 NBA season:
Since last season, LeBron James and his agent Rich Paul have been strong advocates of Lue becoming head coach, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 22, 2016
ESPN's Brian Windhorst later expounded upon James' desire to be coached by a "former player" like Lue later in the day, but did add that LeBron reportedly wasn't consulted before the final decision was made.
James' fondness for Ty Lue and his desire to be coached by a former player were well known in the organization. As were issues with Blatt
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 22, 2016
LeBron James was informed of the decision to fire David Blatt today, he was not consulted on decision sources said
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 22, 2016
In fact, the locker room was said to be shocked about the turn of events despite "unrest growing" in the divide between Blatt and his players.
How surprised were Cavs players today? When team meeting was called, some players speculated Kevin Love had been traded
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 22, 2016
Despite positive comments publicly, there had been unrest growing in Cavs locker room. Frankly, it had been there since almost day one.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 22, 2016
Where does the truth lie in all of this? We may never get the full picture publicly, but we at least have a healthy cross-section at the dissonance on the bench and in the locker room which ultimately led to Blatt's release.
On The Other Side...
Blatt released a calm and collected statement about his dismissal shortly after the announcement, yet his former players and inner circle weren't nearly as understanding of the circumstances surrounding the firing -- especially with the prevailing notion being that LeBron James' dissatisfaction with Blatt was the main impetus for the decision.
Per David Pick:
Bunch of Blatt's former players in disbelief, lost all respect for Cleveland and LeBron James.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) January 22, 2016
David Blatt's folks overseas said he was "thrown under the bus" and "saw it coming." No surprise.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) January 22, 2016
Pick added that rumors of an immediate departure for a coaching job in Europe are false, but did throw one very intriguing NBA team into the conversation as a potential landing spot following the current NBA campaign:
Blatt is NOT going to coach in Europe this season. He shut that down.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) January 22, 2016
Heard Blatt & Twolves buzz. Strong Euro core, he drafted Andrew Wiggins No. 1 overall.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) January 22, 2016
The Wiggins connection makes Minnesota an extremely interesting option to consider as the months tick away until the offseason.
Brendan Haywood Sounds Off
Former Cavs center Brendan Haywood was a guest on SiriusXB NBA Radio's NBA Today show shortly after the Blatt announcement, and he had some pointed criticisms to air about Blatt's approach with LeBron James and overall merits as a head coach.
Via Justin Termine of SiriusXM:
Brendan Haywood told me & @Jumpshot8 that Blatt "was very hesitant to challenge Lebron"
— Justin Termine (@TermineRadio) January 22, 2016
Haywood said players from the team started to lose respect for not holding Lebron accountable, but doing so with the rest of the team...
— Justin Termine (@TermineRadio) January 22, 2016
Haywood told us "Blatt can't help a team in a close game..." Adding, "he doesn't know how to draw up a play..."
— Justin Termine (@TermineRadio) January 22, 2016
There may be some sour grapes involved here considering Haywood was traded in the summer of 2015 to the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland promptly waived him and Cleveland pocketed a $10.6 million trade exception.
Rick Carlisle Sounds Off
Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle called the Houston Rockets' firing of Kevin McHale 11 games into the 2015-16 season "preposterous," and he went even further in criticizing the Cavs' decision to axe Blatt on Friday.
"I'm embarrassed for our league that something like this could happen,” Carlisle said to the Dallas Morning News. “It's just bizarre. Now is Tyronn Lue going to coach the All-Star Game? It just leaves you with a bit of an empty feeling. Because Blatt's a great guy and he did a great job there.”
Regardless of the circumstances of his departure from Cleveland, Carlisle thinks Blatt will land on his feet as a “highly sought-after coach this summer.”
“The other side of it is, a good man perhaps has been liberated and is now going to have some great options and he'll find a much better situation here if he wants it,” Carlisle said. “And a guy like him deserves that."
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