The collective shock surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers’ mid-season
firing of David Blatt has begun to subside. The reality of the behind the
scenes discord, however, still is unfolding. And it does not make the league’s
most recognizable athlete look as inclusive as he would like us to believe he
is.
Since last season, LeBron James and his agent Rich Paul have been strong advocates of Lue becoming head coach, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 22, 2016
If you have been following my writing on this blog for even
a year, you know that I have always been one to crown LeBron James as one of
the best to play—because he is. But for me, it was more than just his
basketball talent. It was his desire to play the Good Father or Community
Leader quite often. It was moments like these that I always pointed to to represent his big heart. To his credit,
he has never been involved in scandals like other legendary athletes in recent
memory a la Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, Kobe Bryant, Floyd
Mayweather or even Michael Jordan.
But this is not acceptable.
James' fondness for Ty Lue and his desire to be coached by a former player were well known in the organization. As were issues with Blatt
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 22, 2016
When a coach who is 30-11 is fired a year after taking his
team to the NBA Finals, something is wrong. Stan Van Gundy said it best in this
clip…what does this mean for assessing coaching success if wins don’t matter?
LeBron James has come out and said that he was surprised
about the coaching change but I don’t believe that. Anybody who doesn’t think
LeBron James is lying is, to quote a social media icon, playing themselves.
I have been dumbfounded. The final straw for me was this
excellent breakdown by Coach Nick. LeBron James mopes around the court like a
10-year-old who was told he couldn’t have ice cream before he did his homework.
It’s pitiful, disgraceful, and a whole host of Stephen A. Smith adjectives. And why does LeBron give a basketball-unknown, his friend Rich Paul, so much power?
If you haven't already, you need to watch this.
If you haven't already, you need to watch this.
Will the Cleveland Cavaliers be better off without David
Blatt? Most likely. Did the Warriors’ firing of Mark Jackson set precedence for
firing “successful” coaches? No doubt. Will Blatt laugh all the way to the bank
and sit at home like the rest of us, enjoying Super Bowl commercials when
the Carolina Panthers suit up against the Denver Broncos? I hope so. But at the
same this timing is just so…wrong. I’m hardly saying anything that hasn’t been
said already, but this is a conclusion I’ve personally never come to before in
10+ years I’ve watched the ascent of an all-time NBA great:
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