Tyronn Lue: ‘We Lost Confidence In Ourselves’ After Warriors Loss

Van Gundy blasted the Cavs organization for firing a coach who directed a team to the NBA Finals last season and was on pace to coach the Eastern Conference in the All-Star Game next month.

Haywood also told Sirius XM that Blatt seemed to be “scared” of LeBron James, failing to point out any of James’ flaws while watching film, and calling every foul for LeBron during practice.

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

“We’re just a team that we’re a bit fragile at times”, James said following Saturday’s shootaround, “and we’re still learning each other”. “The only thing I can worry about is how I can get these guys better prepared and we can play better basketball”. “I think early, we wanted to push it, we wanted to open the floor and I think we came out and did that and then I think we just dropped off the map”, Lue said.

New head coach Tyronn Lue signed a multi-year deal to replace Blatt, and James and his agent Rich Paul have reportedly been strong advocates of Lue becoming head coach in the past.

“I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as the Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers”, Blatt said in the statement. “But it ended today…. So obviously, there’s something else going on, and that’s what I’m saying – none of us now has any clue, whatsoever, what the expectations for coaches are”.

The promotion of Lue, who appears to have a strong bond with the players, represents a change in team culture for the Cavaliers and he is pushing a “team first” policy. Lue said he’d continue to handle the defense while taking on more offensive responsibilities, although he’ll share them with lead assistants Larry Drew and Jim Boylan.

Unfortunately for James, Lue, and the Cavs, they lost their first game without Blatt, falling to Eastern Conference rivals the Chicago Bulls last Saturday at home.

Griffin said it was “unfair” to imply James had any role in the choice.

Tom Thibodeau would have been one of the options for the Cleveland Cavaliers as head coach if they had fired David Blatt during the 2015 offseason, according to a report.

In winning for the fifth time in six games, the Pelicans placed seven players in double figures. I think that’s the disconnect.

It’s raised the stakes on what coaching expectations are, and in some cases, it’s either win a championship – and maintain good relationships with players in the locker room – or bust.

Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose (1) passes over Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love (0) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, in Cleveland.