Nobody is safe.
In a surprise move, the Cleveland Cavaliers have fired Israeli-American head coach David Blatt in just his second season.
“Frankly ‘pretty good’ is not what we’re here for … That’s not what we’re in the business to be.” Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said during a press conference. “I’m not leaving an unprecedented team payroll to chance.”
Bench coach Tyronn Lue will take the vacant position.
Blatt, the first Israeli head coach in NBA history, lead the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in his rookie season and was sitting atop the Eastern Conference (30-11) this year before the sudden split.
Questions concerning Blatt’s control of the team began circulating during last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals. LeBron James showed frustration with a number of coaching decisions throughout the game, including
“To be honest, the play that was drawn up, I scratched it,” James said after the game. “I just told coach, ‘Just give me the ball. We either going to go into overtime or I’ma win it for us.’ It was that simple.”
Though it has become increasingly clear that no professional coaching job is safe, this move feels particularly brash.
Blatt’s first foray into the NBA was a brief but successful one. I imagine he will find a new home sooner than later since, as we have learned, there are bound to be plenty of available jobs for the taking in the near future.
