RTM wrote:
I want to qualify this statement. None of the players have actually said to anyone that they think he's leaving. Delvon Roe's father did. This story kind of takes the situation out of context a bit.
Actually, this may or may not be true. According to multiple outlets, various players
have stated that Izzo has told them that he will not be back. The question is if all of these outlets received their information from the same source. If that is true, then it could be anything from a publicity stunt, to an out-and-out lie. We have another "source" that says that Izzo never said anything to the team. The question is who you want to believe.
The facts that we know (or 99.9% sure) are true is that Dan Gilbert has made an offer to Izzo. We do not know if it was formal or not, as again, various outlets have released conflicting information. We also know that Dan Gilbert wants a coach hired, and in-place before the draft. We also can conclude that Tom Izzo is at-least interested in the Cavaliers' head-coaching job, as he didn't turn it down like he did Chicago 2 weeks ago... and they are "supposed" to have a better line-up, and more stability than the Cavaliers. If this was a question of Izzo only wanting to coach a team with a lot of potential, then he wouldn't have turned down Chicago so quickly, as they have Rose, Noah, a good bench, and a lot of money to spend on a top free-agent.
If you look at these facts, and look at how he (Izzo) turned Chicago down so quickly, and completely ignored the Nets, then you can conclude that their is another reason for Izzo's interest in the Cavs' job. That interest is likely LeBron James. It has been rumored (through multiple sources) that LeBron has basically agreed to sign a 3-year extension with the Cavs. You may or may not believe this, or you may just be waiting for verification from someone like Windhorst, or LeBron himself. Regardless if you believe it to be true or not, one thing remains: Izzo didn't say "no" to Gilbert & the Cavs. You cannot say that he is just giving Dan Gilbert respect because he is an MSU alumni, because Dan contacted Izzo about the HC job back in 2005, but Izzo told him he wasn't interested.
So why the change? Not because of the roster w/o LeBron...because it isn't that appealing. Not because Dan Gilbert is rich and would spend whatever it takes to win, because there is a salary cap that restricts Dan from throwing his money around; and "buying" a championship. These assumptions/facts lead us to conclude that there must be some truth in the LeBron rumor. A player that Izzo really likes. Yet, ironically, Izzo said "no thanks" to Chicago, who supposedly is one of the front-runners for LeBron's services.
The thing about rumors, regardless of who releases them, it is always necessary to read between the lines. Take information that you already know to be true, then add the rumor to it, then conclude the most likely outcome.
The most likely outcome appears to be LeBron re-signing, and Izzo becoming the next head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. This outcome is based solely on facts that we have learned, and rumors we have heard.
Now, we await verification of our conclusions.
