The Cleveland Cavaliers' decision to fire David Blatt shortly before the All-Star break reset their season and eventually led them to play dominating basketball in these playoffs.
When David Griffin informed Tyronn Lue of their decision to fire Blatt, the response was pointed.
"This is f----- up, Griff," Lue said To Griffin.
Griffin calmly asked Lue if he would take over as head coach.
Lue pleaded with Griffin for several minutes that firing Blatt was an excessive move considering the Cavaliers held a 30-11 record. Griffin told Lue the decision had already been made.
"What's done is done. I'm asking you if you can lead this team?" asked Griffin.
"Yeah, I can f---ing lead this team," replied Lue.
Lue reflected back to that time period following the Cavaliers' win to advance to The Finals.
"I was like, 'what the f---.' That was my initial thought," Lue told cleveland.com. "I didn't see it coming. I couldn't believe it. But, you're prepared because you've done the coaching interviews and you have your philosophies. But to fire the head coach and you take over the next day with no practice or anything and you have the Chicago Bulls coming in. It was overwhelming."
Dan Gilbert has been reluctant to comment on the firing, but finally did after Game 6.
"I just think it was a great decision that was made," Gilbert said to cleveland.com. "You never know what would happen any other way, but I think [Lue is] fantastic. It's rare that a guy knows the game and has people skills. You get both with him, like offense and defense almost. He's a special guy."
