Why did Lebron James hate Erik Spoelstra and David Blatt?

Cyrusman122000 · Post #1 » by **Cyrusman122000** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:29 pm

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.

Stolen Identity · Post #2 » by **Stolen Identity** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:37 pm

I think it was power struggle thing between player vision and a coach's vision.

In Spo's case, he had Pat Riley's support all the way and has since gone on to grow much more as coach post-Big 3 Heat era. In Blatt's case, nobody really knew what he would do in the NBA and was always going to be a scape goat (LeBron gets the last word, let's all be real about that) despite the fact I thought he did a fantastic job in the 14/15 season and playoffs given the circumstances.

I'm hoping Blatt can find a job in the NBA again.

Tinseltown · Post #3 » by **Tinseltown** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:42 pm

LeBron disliked David Blatt because Blatt was routinely late for practice. When LeBron returned to Cleveland he wanted to recreate the professional atmosphere that he experienced in Miami and Blatt kept undermining him by not starting practice on time. Notice how JR hasn't been late to a game since Blatt was fired. I also think Blatt not understanding the NBA timeout system (Tyron Lue had to call the timouts for him) irked LeBron.
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/11/lebron_james_was_tired_of_wait.html

I'm not sure why LeBron disliked Spoelstra but I think it had more to do with LeBron being generally unhappy in his first year in Miami than a specific problem with Spoelstra.

laika · Post #4 » by **laika** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:42 pm

So let's suppose the Warriors crush the Cavs in the finals.
Lue would most likely get fired by Lebron.

At that point, would any good coaches be willing to coach the Cavs?

tarantism · Post #5 » by **tarantism** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:43 pm

Isn't it obvious? Lue is LeBron's yes man and that's why they get along. LBJ's ego is gigantic, he doesn't want to be coached.

timdunkit · Post #6 » by **timdunkit** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:55 pm

laika wrote:So let's suppose the Warriors crush the Cavs in the finals.
Lue would most likely get fired by Lebron.

At that point, would any good coaches be willing to coach the Cavs?

Yes, it's still a job and someone would want to get paid.

Warriorfan · Post #7 » by **Warriorfan** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:55 pm

Blatt and Spoelstra are established coaches who probably tried to coach Lebron.

Johnny Firpo · Post #8 » by **Johnny Firpo** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:57 pm

tarantism wrote:Isn't it obvious? Lue is LeBron's yes man and that's why they get along. LBJ's ego is gigantic, he doesn't want to be coached.

I don't know, he supposedly told Lebron to "shut the expletive up" during a huddle last season. Could be false, it could also be true and still doesn't mean much, I don't know. Maybe Cavs fans will have a better view on this one. One thing is for sure, I think Blatt is a great coach, and should find an NBA job whenever he wants it.

WIN · Post #9 » by **WIN** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:58 pm

Lebrun doesn't like to be held accountable.

Post #10 » by **Prez** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:59 pm

Tinseltown wrote:LeBron disliked David Blatt because Blatt was routinely late for practice. When LeBron returned to Cleveland he wanted to recreate the professional atmosphere that he experienced in Miami and Blatt kept undermining him by not starting practice on time. Notice how JR hasn't been late to a game since Blatt was fired. I also think Blatt not understanding the NBA timeout system (Tyron Lue had to call the timouts for him) irked LeBron.
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/11/lebron_james_was_tired_of_wait.html

I'm not sure why LeBron disliked Spoelstra but I think it had more to do with LeBron being generally unhappy in his first year in Miami than a specific problem with Spoelstra.

Is there actual evidence for this? In the link you posted it says Blatt was in a press conference answering questions right after Kyrie and Love's press conference, and the interviewers went a bit long. It was more about LeBron being salty about the interviewers than anything Blatt did.

Tinseltown · Post #11 » by **Tinseltown** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:03 pm

Prez wrote:
Tinseltown wrote:LeBron disliked David Blatt because Blatt was routinely late for practice. When LeBron returned to Cleveland he wanted to recreate the professional atmosphere that he experienced in Miami and Blatt kept undermining him by not starting practice on time. Notice how JR hasn't been late to a game since Blatt was fired. I also think Blatt not understanding the NBA timeout system (Tyron Lue had to call the timouts for him) irked LeBron.
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/11/lebron_james_was_tired_of_wait.html

I'm not sure why LeBron disliked Spoelstra but I think it had more to do with LeBron being generally unhappy in his first year in Miami than a specific problem with Spoelstra.

Is there actual evidence for this? Because nothing in your post backs that up. Blatt was in a press conference answering questions right after Kyrie and Love's press conference, and the interviewers went a bit long. It was more about LeBron being salty about the interviewers than anything Blatt did.

It happened again in Dallas a few weeks later. There are a ton of reports of Blatt being late for practice throughout his time with the Cavs

http://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2016/story/_/id/15878773/truehoop-presents-lebron-struggles-bring-heat-culture-cavs

Things were still far from perfect. James, a stickler for punctuality, was continually upset by players not being on time. Film sessions, buses, flights -- the lack of professionalism burned James. Sometimes it was Blatt, who was supposed to be setting the example himself, who was late. And on a January afternoon when the Cavs were practicing in Dallas, James got so fed up he tweeted about it, writing: "No RESPECT for time! #PetPeeve"

Patches Perry · Post #12 » by **Patches Perry** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:10 pm

LeBron is at the point where he couldn't be coached by anyone not named Phil or Pop. It's no slight to him really, Jordan and Kobe would have been the same way. It's just that they actually had Phil.

If you've carried 3 title teams and 7 finals teams, what is some rookie or average coach going to tell you?

LeBron at this point either needs a coach more accomplished than him (Phil or Pop) or a good yes man who can contribute ideas and keep everything on schedule. Anything in between will fail.

red_power · Post #13 » by **red_power** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:13 pm

WIN wrote:Lebrun doesn't like to be held accountable.

That would be more correct to say that he simply dislikes to be accountable to anything less that his legacy, i guess.

HotTubMike · Post #14 » by **HotTubMike** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:15 pm

He doesn't believe any coach has superior basketball knowledge than him.

SlowPaced · Post #15 » by **SlowPaced** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:38 pm

HotTubMike wrote:He doesn't believe any coach has superior basketball knowledge than him.

I think this is the reason, though I wouldn't say it's "any coach". There are a few that he probably wouldn't feel the same way about. Riley is probably one of those people, which is why he couldn't actively disregard Spo as a coach beyond the first season as Spo is Riley's protege.

jswede · Post #16 » by **jswede** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:57 pm

Cyrusman122000 wrote: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.

LeBron wasn't terribly fond of Blatt from the start, and Blatt dug himself deeper and deeper with others as time went on.

The fact that it took a season and a half for him to get fired is evidence that LeBron had little to do with it. If he did it'd have happened 12mos earlier - certainly before the second season at the latest.

jswede · Post #17 » by **jswede** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 6:02 pm

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

Cyrusman122000 · Post #18 » by **Cyrusman122000** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 6:03 pm

jswede wrote:
Cyrusman122000 wrote: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.

LeBron wasn't terribly fond of Blatt from the start, and Blatt dug himself deeper and deeper with others as time went on.

The fact that it took a season and a half for him to get fired is evidence that LeBron had little to do with it. If he did it'd have happened 12mos earlier - certainly before the second season at the latest.

Why? This is what I'm trying to figure out

jswede · Post #19 » by **jswede** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 6:07 pm

Cyrusman122000 wrote:
jswede wrote:
Cyrusman122000 wrote: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.

LeBron wasn't terribly fond of Blatt from the start, and Blatt dug himself deeper and deeper with others as time went on.

The fact that it took a season and a half for him to get fired is evidence that LeBron had little to do with it. If he did it'd have happened 12mos earlier - certainly before the second season at the latest.

Why? This is what I'm trying to figure out

He likes former players.

Regardless, whatever chance LeBron was giving him, if any, was soon out the window as Blatt displayed his arrogance and showed he was in well over his head.

fouronesix22 · Post #20 » by **fouronesix22** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 6:09 pm

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