Cleveland Head Coach David Blatt Is Fired

In a bit of a surprising move, especially at this point of the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have fired head coach David Blatt.

Blatt is one of the most successful head coaches in his position for the sport of basketball. He had a combined 225-55 win-loss record over 4 years as Maccabi Head Coach. He’s had plenty of accolades from coaching in Europe, and has been coaching for about 23 years total, however only a year and a half in the NBA.

Blatt coached the team to a 53-29 record last year and getting to the finals and 30-11 record this season for a combined 83-40 record. That may seem easy with a team that includes LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and other side pieces, but it is still an accomplishment for someone who has never served as a head coach in the NBA. He’s had plenty of critics, and did not seem to have the full respect of the Cavaliers locker room.

During the NBA Finals last season, James seemed to play the coach a bit more. We saw LeBron push Blatt out of the way and LeBron ignore Blatt at times. There was definitely impression that LeBron was not sold on him, whether or not LeBron was trying to give that impression.

The Cavs have agreed to hire Tyronn Lue as head coach, giving him a multi year deal. LeBron was apparently not consulted in this decision and players seemed “connected” to Lue.

*Photo credit to basket-infos.com