One of the biggest surprises of this NBA season was when the Cavs announced David Blatt was fired as the team's coach. Cleveland held the best record in the conference at the time and had just come off of an NBA Finals appearance.
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Tyronn Lue was replaced as the team's coach, and he's done a great job with his new role. He has the team back in the finals and competing at a higher level than a season ago. You'd expect Lue would have jumped at the opportunity to coach the team, but he was reportedly hesitant when he was first offered. According to a report from Cleveland.com, Lue pleaded with Cavs general manager David Griffin to keep Blatt around.
"This is f—ed up, Griff," Lue reportedly responded when told of Blatt's firing.
Here's how the rest of the conversation went, per Chris Haynes:
Lue pleaded with Griffin, arguing for several minutes that firing Blatt was an excessive move for a team carrying a conference-best 30-11 record. Griffin listened to Lue's pleas. When they ended, he told Lue the decision has already been carried out.
Griffin circled back to his original question.
"What's done is done. I'm asking you if you can lead this team?" It had taken a few minutes, but Griffin got the response he sought.
"Yeah, I can f—ing lead this team."
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert spoke to Cleveland.com about the firing, which is something he hasn't done much of this season. He called it a "great decision," and it's hard to argue with him. The team played well under Blatt, but mainly because this is just such a talented roster. They look better under Lue, and it seems obvious this was the right decision.
As for whether the phone call actually happened as they said it did, there have been some doubts by others. It seems reasonable Lue would make the case for Blatt to stay. He was a loyal assistant who didn't want to be seen as someone gunning for another man's job. Of course, that'd be the story they'd want to portray, but it seems like this is something that could have played out.
