Why did Lebron James hate Erik Spoelstra and David Blatt?

[Cyrusman122000]

We're calling a guy that took four different coaches to the finals a coach killer? Lol comical

To address OP's point though, I don't think Lebron disliked Spo. I think he wasn't ready for the militant like culture in Miami but it helped him mature physically and mentally and he won 2 titles.

I don't think he was a fan of Blatt though. Blatt as great of a coach as he was in Europe, he was not ready to coach at an NBA level with a title or bust type of team. He was hired before Lebron came back.

Last thing I want to say is Lue is a great coach. I think he doesnt get enough credit for the adjustments he made in last years finals. He utilized Love better than Blatt ever did (after Blatt was fired.)He's also a genius when it comes to ATO plays and I wouldn't be surprised if he's ranked up there with the best of them when it comes to the success of them.

Absolutely. He didn't like Spo or Blatt, and didn't listen or take them seriously despite the fact that both are good coaches, who are classy men, and have gained reputations of being a good coach. How is that a coachable player? For lebron its his way or no way. If it wasn't for Wade, and someone powerful like Riley Spo would have gotten fired, and because Lebron disliked Blatt that rubbed off on the rest of the team, and they tuned him out. Eventually he got fired.

Also its beyond comical you think Lue is a great coach. Put Lue on the Celtics instead of Brad Stevens or on the Hawks instead of Bud and there is NO way they are as good as they are. Lue has had success solely because of Lebron nothing else.

That's complete speculation on your part with no facts to back it up.

No proof that James teammates wanted Blatt out also. Besides, if Blatt was so great, then his phone would have been ringing from many NBA GM's and Owners trying to get a hold of him.

What other coach would've been fired after coaching a team to the NBA finals without the second or third best player on their team, and then get fired the next season when his team has the best record in the east? From everything I was hearing at the time was that the team had tuned him out, and didn't respect him. That started with Lebron. It wasn't hard to realize he didn't like Blatt. His body language was very obvious. You don't shove your coach out of the way in the middle of the game.

[RCM88x]

Absolutely. He didn't like Spo or Blatt, and didn't listen or take them seriously despite the fact that both are good coaches, who are classy men, and have gained reputations of being a good coach. How is that a coachable player? For lebron its his way or no way. If it wasn't for Wade, and someone powerful like Riley Spo would have gotten fired, and because Lebron disliked Blatt that rubbed off on the rest of the team, and they tuned him out. Eventually he got fired.

Also its beyond comical you think Lue is a great coach. Put Lue on the Celtics instead of Brad Stevens or on the Hawks instead of Bud and there is NO way they are as good as they are. Lue has had success solely because of Lebron nothing else.

That's complete speculation on your part with no facts to back it up.

No proof that James teammates wanted Blatt out also. Besides, if Blatt was so great, then his phone would have been ringing from many NBA GM's and Owners trying to get a hold of him.

What other coach would've been fired after coaching a team to the NBA finals without the second or third best player on their team, and then get fired the next season when his team has the best record in the east? From everything I was hearing at the time was that the team had tuned him out, and didn't respect him. That started with Lebron. It wasn't hard to realize he didn't like Blatt. His body language was very obvious. You don't shove your coach out of the way in the middle of the game.

Do you think it was a bad move to fire Blatt?

[The4thHorseman]

Absolutely. He didn't like Spo or Blatt, and didn't listen or take them seriously despite the fact that both are good coaches, who are classy men, and have gained reputations of being a good coach. How is that a coachable player? For lebron its his way or no way. If it wasn't for Wade, and someone powerful like Riley Spo would have gotten fired, and because Lebron disliked Blatt that rubbed off on the rest of the team, and they tuned him out. Eventually he got fired.

Also its beyond comical you think Lue is a great coach. Put Lue on the Celtics instead of Brad Stevens or on the Hawks instead of Bud and there is NO way they are as good as they are. Lue has had success solely because of Lebron nothing else.

That's complete speculation on your part with no facts to back it up.

No proof that James teammates wanted Blatt out also. Besides, if Blatt was so great, then his phone would have been ringing from many NBA GM's and Owners trying to get a hold of him.

What other coach would've been fired after coaching a team to the NBA finals without the second or third best player on their team, and then get fired the next season when his team has the best record in the east? From everything I was hearing at the time was that the team had tuned him out, and didn't respect him. That started with Lebron. It wasn't hard to realize he didn't like Blatt. His body language was very obvious. You don't shove your coach out of the way in the middle of the game.

I don't know because "obviously I don't know what goes on behind the scenes."

But in 2015, once Irving got hobbled and was out for good, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what coaching needed to be done with the postseason virgin teammates that were starting in the Finals.......Give the ball to LeBron and stay out of the way.

Again.....If Blatt was so great, why wasn't he getting calls from around the league for at least asst. jobs??? etc...

[jswede]

Absolutely. He didn't like Spo or Blatt, and didn't listen or take them seriously despite the fact that both are good coaches, who are classy men, and have gained reputations of being a good coach. How is that a coachable player? For lebron its his way or no way. If it wasn't for Wade, and someone powerful like Riley Spo would have gotten fired, and because Lebron disliked Blatt that rubbed off on the rest of the team, and they tuned him out. Eventually he got fired.

Also its beyond comical you think Lue is a great coach. Put Lue on the Celtics instead of Brad Stevens or on the Hawks instead of Bud and there is NO way they are as good as they are. Lue has had success solely because of Lebron nothing else.

That's complete speculation on your part with no facts to back it up.

No proof that James teammates wanted Blatt out also. Besides, if Blatt was so great, then his phone would have been ringing from many NBA GM's and Owners trying to get a hold of him.

What other coach would've been fired after coaching a team to the NBA finals without the second or third best player on their team, and then get fired the next season when his team has the best record in the east? From everything I was hearing at the time was that the team had tuned him out, and didn't respect him. That started with Lebron. It wasn't hard to realize he didn't like Blatt. His body language was very obvious. You don't shove your coach out of the way in the middle of the game.

They were winning in spite of Blatt. Windhorst tells stories of Blatt having trouble calling plays during timeouts - voice quivering, freezing up, putting the same guy in 2 places as he draws up the play - to the point assistants or players would have to take over. He wasn't holding players accountable for keeping to schedules for practices and meetings, and if he did it was very inconsistent. He'd lost the team by the time he was fired, and that's on nobody but Blatt.

[ShotCreator]

To say LeBron ''hated" Spoelstra is frankly absurd. Didn't Riley also kill any BS about him wanting to fire Spoelstra last year?

[Cyrusman122000]

That's complete speculation on your part with no facts to back it up.

No proof that James teammates wanted Blatt out also. Besides, if Blatt was so great, then his phone would have been ringing from many NBA GM's and Owners trying to get a hold of him.

What other coach would've been fired after coaching a team to the NBA finals without the second or third best player on their team, and then get fired the next season when his team has the best record in the east? From everything I was hearing at the time was that the team had tuned him out, and didn't respect him. That started with Lebron. It wasn't hard to realize he didn't like Blatt. His body language was very obvious. You don't shove your coach out of the way in the middle of the game.

Do you think it was a bad move to fire Blatt?

I think they would've won the title with Blatt as well. They didn't win because of Lue, they won because Lebron and Kyrie's historic performances, and Draymond being a dumbass. THey went to the finals with Blatt, its not like they sucked with Blatt. I really don't think coaching is that big with the Cavs given how the roster is contructed to fit Lebron's talents. Its a perfect fit with all the shooters. You, and me could probably coach that team, and it would be the same result.

[jswede]

More: http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2016/01/why_david_blatt_got_fired_and.html

During the first portion of the 2014-15 season, film sessions were a topic of discussion among the players. Blatt was reluctant to criticize star players even when they clearly messed up a play. This became routine. It got so bad that I'm told that Lue finally intervened, stood up and demanded that somebody rewind the footage so that he could get on members of The Big 3.

During team scrimmages, players competed aggressively but bit their tongues as Blatt frequently blew his whistle to call ticky-tack or phantom fouls for his go-to players. One player said sometimes Blatt didn't even have a whistle and would yell at the top of his lungs to stop play and call a foul if one of his stars acted as if he was hit.

It was viewed as a blatant attempt to get in the good graces of his top talent. Blatt's leadership was in question. Players grew tired of this treatment. The locker room started resenting Blatt's handling, or lack thereof, when it came to dealing with his stars.

Word circulated to cleveland.com that Blatt had trouble drawing up plays out of timeouts. He would freeze up and waste precious seconds, one player said. He would even draw up plays for players who weren't in the game, another player said.

Just in over his head. Nothing more.

[3Diamantidis]

Because he's not the most coachable guy out there. That's not necessary a knock on him.
He has his own philosophy for what he wants his team to do.
Until now he has the accomplishments to justify that. He knows the game.
Both spoelstra and blatt are elite coaches imo and maybe(w blatt) ther was just a lack of communication. It happens.

[Cyrusman122000]

That's complete speculation on your part with no facts to back it up.

No proof that James teammates wanted Blatt out also. Besides, if Blatt was so great, then his phone would have been ringing from many NBA GM's and Owners trying to get a hold of him.

What other coach would've been fired after coaching a team to the NBA finals without the second or third best player on their team, and then get fired the next season when his team has the best record in the east? From everything I was hearing at the time was that the team had tuned him out, and didn't respect him. That started with Lebron. It wasn't hard to realize he didn't like Blatt. His body language was very obvious. You don't shove your coach out of the way in the middle of the game.

I don't know because "obviously I don't know what goes on behind the scenes."

But in 2015, once Irving got hobbled and was out for good, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what coaching needed to be done with the postseason virgin teammates that were starting in the Finals.......Give the ball to LeBron and stay out of the way.

Again.....If Blatt was so great, why wasn't he getting calls from around the league for at least asst. jobs??? etc...

I'm really not too sure. My guess is teams figure if he couldn't make it with the Cavs and Lebron he won't work for us, but that was an unfair situation because he was hired prior to the Cavs getting lebron. Hopefully he gets another chance. He's better than some coaches in this league that we have

[Duke4life831]

I think he just doesnt like to be coached. I think he has a huge ego and thinks his knowledge of the game is superior to any of the coaches he has had. Im also not saying thats a bad thing or that he doesnt deserve to have that massive ego. The dude has been to what 6-7 straight finals, what he is doing is clearly working. But ya I think it is obvious that he just isnt the most coachable guy. Hes probably at his best when he has more of a yes man and allows him to take over the game and be the coach/GM of the team. The dude has earned it.

[LivingLegend]

Lebron has a very specific idea of how he wants to play, and he resents anyone trying to overrule him. It works for the most part because Lebron is awesome, but he's definitely incredibly demanding and not really malleable at this stage.

"Coach killer" is a degree too harsh, but "borderline uncoachable" is fair. Unless you're an NBA coaching legend with pedigree independent of Lebron, than Lebron is not going to respect you.

This is the most accurate take in this thread.

Fact is LeBron has been there--done that and has seen it all. He is a more valuable and knowledgable about what should be ran than 90% of current NBA coaches. If it was still a thing, he would be there perfect player/coach. He is a 14 year veteran that has carried the load at every stage of his career and because of that, hes a control freak. He knows how to win, what it takes, what it should look like and if anybody tries to tell him differently, hes not a fan.

He needs a 'players coach' and not a guy who brings their own system--because LeBron has his own system and it has proven extremely effective. Blatt had his own system and tried to force players out of the LeBron system and into his. This didnt go over well.

[Seralin]

LBJ is a whiny coach killer, he tried to get spo fired and got Blatt fired because of cleveland's management being on lebrons piece. And yet the media made the coach (especially blatt) look like the bad one "Oh he isnt a good coach he cant control his players" . "He doesnt use Love properly" "He lost the locker room". They were the best team in the east a very good record I dont see why they fired him

Spo issue was an issue at the beginning, at the end it was more about the management. Blatt certainly didn't help himself by assuming his success overseas would automatically translate into respect in NBA. Weren't people saying Blatt lost the team by not being just or fair to players (for instance not criticizing the top for the mistakes)? This usually translates as someone losing respect in himself, so what do you expect to receive from the others....

[RSCD3_]

This is something I don't know too much back story about, but why did Lebron James dislike Erik Spoelstra and David Blatt so much? He clearly has gained a reputation for not being a very coachable player in the sense that he doesn't like to take direction from coaches, but what happened with these two?
He clearly didn't like Spo despite Spo being a fine coach, but in Miami Wade and more so Pat Riley put their foot down so Lebron just had to suck it up.
In Cleveland that wasn't the case. James put his foot down and out David Blatt went. Blatt and Spo are better coaches than Tyron Lue, but you don't see Lebron clashing with Lue ever.
So why did he hate those 2 coaches so much? Both guys seem like very respectful, classy coaches who have had success.

He got along fine with spo after 2011.


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[RSCD3_]

Lebrun doesn't like to be held accountable.

The whole reason the rest of the team that didn't like him didn't like him was because he was soft on LeBron while lue at least acts in front of the team like he holds everyone accountable lol.


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[NBAFan93]

Lebron has a very specific idea of how he wants to play, and he resents anyone trying to overrule him. It works for the most part because Lebron is awesome, but he's definitely incredibly demanding and not really malleable at this stage.

"Coach killer" is a degree too harsh, but "borderline uncoachable" is fair. Unless you're an NBA coaching legend with pedigree independent of Lebron, than Lebron is not going to respect you.

This is exactly what I think goes on. LeBron is a goat level player w/ a genius-level basketball IQ - his coaches are just figureheads that direct workouts and do the formal managerial duties of the team, but when it comes down to actual game strategy, etc., LeBron calls the shots. I've worked w/ people like this - just really good at their jobs and their manager is just someone that holds a spot on the org chart and can be used as a buffer or scapegoat by that person when needed, but they really don't manage said person. Tensions can start to run high if a real manager who actually wants to "lead" this person gets appointed their boss - and honestly, usually the star employee wins the battle and eventually gets a different, more submissive boss assigned.

Lue, IMO, is LeBrons submissive boss - he's been letting LeBron do whatever he wants since he took charge. He plays LeBron so much cause it's really the only gameplan he has, and when LeBron doesn't play the Cavs are horrible!

I agree that LeBron would respect and actually listen to Pop though.

[Heezzi]

Lebron was never coached. High School he got by on athletic ability. He didn't go college. Besides the first year, he had Mike Brown as coach, then Spo. The moment he got to Blatt, he had no good coaches besides his time with Team USA. So he literally, was getting by on ability and not so much team skill. It's the same way that Melo refuses coaching. The problem is Lebron could get away with it, and Melo couldn't

[qm22]

To know why someone dislikes another, you need one of them to tell you/someone themselves. Unless you're just guessing.

There is plenty of evidence that Blatt's conduct wasn't best for LeBron's or the Cavs' goals. There is no way for outsiders to say that those or other things weren't the answer to the OP's question. So what is the point of this thread, to gossip? Baiting people to insult LeBron via pseudo-psychological analysis?

No one has evidence he hated Spo either, maybe the OP should try to build from an evidence-based foundation if he wants others to inform him of why he hated a guy, maybe step 1 is getting some evidence it is true in the first place.

[mvpshaq32]

If Lebron was on the Spurs, he would've gotten Pop fired and turned Duncan into a 3PT shooter

[Dupp]

The only coach ever fired from a Lebron James team ended up in a championship that same season so who cares.

I do have a foot in both camps as I think lue sucks and blatt is a way better basketball coach but blatt was all time bad player manager. Did not know how to deal with NBA personalities compared to the less egotistical players from the euro league.
He had no ones respect. The whole team threw a game against Portland that's how sick of him they were.

Unprofessional but whatever we won a title.

[floppymoose]

To answer the OP question, he didn't respect them bc they never played in the NBA.

I think this is definitely part of it.