Stein: Blatt's Job Could Be In Trouble

[Bankai]

LeBron: "I should've stayed in Miami.."
Cav Fans: "You should've stayed in Miami..."
Blatt: "I should've stayed in Europe..."

[MixxSRC]

This tells you all you need to. He's doing whatever he wants, probably because he wants Blatt gone.

And James acknowledged recently that he did not formally request permission to assume the bulk of the Cavs' playmaking duties, which triggered Cleveland's eight-game winning streak earlier this month.

"No, I can do it on my own," James said of his role change. "I'm passed those days where I have to ask."

too many chefs in the kitchen

[Geddy]

They should have targeted a veteran coach from the start but I'm not sure who was even available at the time.

[Harold_and_Kumar]

Well, let's hope this trainwreck continues well into the all-star break.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Spo wasn't a veteran coach. It has nothing to do with experience in the NBA. Blatt is arrogant and LeBron requires a degree of servility from anyone he plays with.

[arbsn]

I don't want them to fire Blatt. But if they do - I really really want them to hire Mike Brown.

[hankscorpioLA]

Feel really sorry for Blatt. His first NBA job, thought he was getting a young core and a future superstar in Wiggins who he could groom. Instead Lebron comes home, trade Wiggins and undermines the coach at every opportunity. I hope Blatt gets another job somewhere if Cleveland lets him go.

Pretty much exactly how I feel.

Cleveland wouldn't have hired him if they knew LeBron was coming home. And certainly not once they got Kevin Love. There is no way they would bring in a guy with no NBA experience to try to win a championship in Year 1.

Its an interesting case study in decision-making because of the rapid change in direction. IMHO Cleveland made a great decision to hire Blatt when they were working with a group of young players. And you can't argue with the decision to sign LeBron. And once you had LeBron, it made sense to get Kevin Love. So, in sequence, every decision makes sense, even though at the end of the day the first decision may turn out to have been the wrong one.

[Geddy]

Spo wasn't a veteran coach. It has nothing to do with experience in the NBA. Blatt is arrogant and LeBron requires a degree of servility from anyone he plays with.

Spo wasn't a veteran, but the Heat had a personality like Pat Riley keeping everyone in check. Gilbert is probably going to do whatever Lebron asks him to do so it's not going to work the same way.

[mademan]

I hope raps add him to our coaching staff if he gets fired. Dude has an awesome basketball mind but he's just been dealt a terrible hand.

[Bankai]

I hope raps add him to our coaching staff if he gets fired. Dude has an awesome basketball mind but he's just been dealt a terrible hand.

Kind of like Messina. It's not fun being under incompetence, especially when people feel you are better than that. Pretty sure Etore is happier being with Pop and the Spurs.

[hankscorpioLA]

Spo wasn't a veteran coach. It has nothing to do with experience in the NBA. Blatt is arrogant and LeBron requires a degree of servility from anyone he plays with.

Spoelstra had been an assistant coach for 9 years including a championship. He had been with the Heat for almost all of Dwyane Wade's career. He was hand-picked by Pat Riley, an NBA legend. He took his team to the playoffs in his first season after a 15-67 record the previous year. He took them to the playoffs again in his second year.

The last time David Blatt did anything basketball-related in the United States it was 1981 and he was a player at Princeton University.

Its not even apples and oranges. Spoelstra earned his coaching gig the old-fashioned way. He worked his way up through an organization. Blatt is a complete outsider.

Look at it this way. Since hiring Blatt the Cavs added three players - LeBron, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller - who all have NBA Championship rings. Before he was hired, the Cavs roster had 0 championship rings.

And that's the problem right there.

[GED Education]

I hope raps add him to our coaching staff if he gets fired. Dude has an awesome basketball mind but he's just been dealt a terrible hand.

He'd probably just go back to Europe. Can't imagine him wanting to be an assistant.

[VinBaker6]

LeBron needs to set the tone and play hard. His chill mode comments were pretty surprising tbh. Players around him probably feel that if he can be in chill mode, then we can too.

His leadership has been disappointing more than anything.

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[dagger]

Even before the season started, people were saying how the Cavs roster was flawed, that defence would be an issue. It is.

Now Varajeo is out. Miller and Marion are pale imitations of what they used to be - that's another factor people don't realize: the Cavs bench is butt ugly, some well-known names, but aside from Tristan Thompson, not playing out of position, and Delladova who is like a college walk-on made good, they lack scoring power.

[IMAN5]

getting absolutely destroyed by the Pistons will do that to a team.

[ATLTimekeeper]

Its not even apples and oranges. Spoelstra earned his coaching gig the old-fashioned way. He worked his way up through an organization. Blatt is a complete outsider.

Spoelstra was a video guy that knew his role as doormat to Riley. He wasn't a seasoned head coach at any level of importance. Yes, he had a couple of years experience with a playoff team. So does Vinny Del Negro. Just because you've spent 9 years rewinding tape and holding a clipboard doesn't earn trust. It was Riley and LeBron's desperation that made all that work. And once LeBron got his rings and his freedom of choice back, he tuned out Spo and Riley.

Look at it this way. Since hiring Blatt the Cavs added three players - LeBron, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller - who all have NBA Championship rings. Before he was hired, the Cavs roster had 0 championship rings.

I don't know about this. The 2011/12 Heat only had Haslem and Wade that had won a ring. There is value to this point, but I don't think that's the reason why Cleveland is "struggling" right now. LeBron isn't playing like the guy that's won rings. He dogs it on D just as much as the other guys. Blatt is a convenient fall guy.

[IMAN5]

LeBron needs to set the tone and play hard. His chill mode comments were pretty surprising tbh. Players around him probably feel that if he can be in chill mode, then we can too.

His leadership has been disappointing more than anything.

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100% agree, when I read him say "yeah harris' comments deactivated my chill mode and I took over" I wanted to say that isn't something to brag about. That's great that you can take over a game, it's sad that you only choose to when provoked.

Lebron is mentally weak, someone like Kobe has no idea what chill mode feels like because he's always going to attack you, he's always going to try and win at any cost. I remember in the Olympics it was USA vs Spain for the Gold medal and Pau and Kobe were still teammates at the time. There was a specific play where Kobe threw a dirty elbow or forearm (can't remember) that knocked Pau the f out to the ground. Kobe showed no remorse and ran off. When asked about it he said "he wasn't my teammate out there pau was my opponent".

[Meursault]

terribly unfair to Blatt - he is a proven winner and I think if given the chance to coach again in the NBA, he'll prove it. a shame that he's being hung out to dry by the Cavs if the rumors are true.

[hankscorpioLA]

Spoelstra was a video guy that knew his role as doormat to Riley. He wasn't a seasoned head coach at any level of importance. Yes, he had a couple of years experience with a playoff team. So does Vinny Del Negro. Just because you've spent 9 years rewinding tape and holding a clipboard doesn't earn trust. It was Riley and LeBron's desperation that made all that work. And once LeBron got his rings and his freedom of choice back, he tuned out Spo and Riley.

I don't know which part of this to attack first.

Rewinding tape? Spo was the Heat's Director of Scouting from 2001. Is that what you think the Director of Scouting does?

A doormat? Do you really think Pat Riley would trust his team and his legacy to a guy he didn't respect as a coach? Maybe he also felt like he could control him, but that's not the same thing.

LeBron tuned out Spo? When? Was it before or after they got to the NBA Finals last year? Was it in Game 5 when he was the only player to really show up for the Heat?

I am not saying that Spoelstra was Larry Brown. But to try to compare him to Blatt is just wrong. Spoelstra "did his time" as an assistant, gained the trust and respect of his best player in Dwyane Wade and had two years experience as a head coach, making the playoffs both times. Meanwhile, Blatt has ZERO experience in the NBA. There are maybe a handful of players in the league who even knew who he was before he came to the Cavs.

I mean...just the fact that he had a long-standing relationship with Dwyane Wade and had his respect going in would have made a HUGE difference in the locker room. Who has David Blatt's back on the Cavs? Who is going to stand up for him? No one.

Its just a bad situation.

[niQ]

Dunno if relevant but I remember reading somewhere that Cavs fans also started a petition to trade away Kevin Love.. LOL!