Blatt’s Firing Caught James ‘Off Guard’

“This is what coach wants”, James said.

The choice for the Cavs to replace Blatt with Lue is made all the more interesting by the fact that not only is he a friend of LeBron’s, but King James has said time and again he would prefer to play for a coach that has actually played in the National Basketball Association. Lue took over as coach after David Blatt was sacked.

“This was one choice I didn’t need to ask anyone about”, Griffin said.

James was told of Blatt’s firing during a meeting Friday with Griffin and his teammates.

“Our main concern is how we get better”, James said on Sunday.

“One thing since I was a kid, I love to run the floor”, James said. Just about every other time a coach (or manager) has been fired mid-season in any league, his replacement is given the “interim” title.

“I don’t think we’re in good enough shape”, Lue said. The only glaring misstep in the Cavs’ last few games was a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors, 132-98.

Before Saturday’s loss to the Bulls (and his first game as head coach), Lue sounded off on the young guys finding a better way of balancing their personal brand and earning potential, and playing team ball to maximize wins.

James said Saturday he was not involved with the decision despite the perception of his impact on coaching decisions.

“I’ve stopped that a long time ago in my career, worrying about what other people think about me or what I influence or what I don’t”, he said.

LeBron James has had a sturdy relationship with Tyronn Lue and often talks strategy moves with him during the contests. “But if they would let him do it, I think he deserves it”. “He’s still the coach and I’m underneath him”. I guess I consider this a big game and in a big game, we haven’t been able to make shots. I think it’s a lot of coaches and players that’s close in this league.

“The only thing more absurd than what just happened would be (Golden State’s) Steve Kerr or (San Antonio’s Gregg) Popovich getting fired”, Van Gundy said.

Lue didn’t make much of a difference in his coaching debut for Cleveland as Pau Gasol scored 25 points, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 96-83 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday night. He was previously an assistant coach on Doc Rivers’ staff with the Los Angeles Clippers.

“I’ve got a problem in general with this narrative, and those of you that have been with us for a while understand this”, he told reporters. “I thought we did that”.