1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts: 2277
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Loc: Sandy, Utah
Reg: 11-21-04
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01-22-16 09:55 PM - Post#199964
Sorry to read he was fired today, but it seemed like a bad gig from day one.
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SRP
Postdoc
Posts: 4919
Reg: 02-04-06
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01-22-16 10:11 PM - Post#199965
In response to 1LotteryPick1969
Somebody will hire him in a minute back in Europe. It will be interesting to see if he tries to stay in the NBA.
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gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts: 3680
Reg: 02-06-10
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David Blatt moves on....
01-22-16 10:47 PM - Post#199967
In response to SRP
1st year: NBA Finals despite injuries to Love and Irving.
2nd year: 1st place (30-11) in an improved Eastern Conference.
Is he being fired for the blowout loss versus the Warriors? The team on an all-time great pace whose core has built chemistry over the past 4 years? Harsh.
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sparman
PhD Student
Posts: 1348
Reg: 12-08-04
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Re: David Blatt moves on....
01-22-16 11:23 PM - Post#199968
In response to gokinsmen
Supposedly, chemistry that was external to the coach.
Moral: never coach a team that is really run by a superstar player.
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JadwinGeorge
Senior
Posts: 357
Age: 75
Reg: 12-04-15
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01-23-16 12:37 PM - Post#199976
In response to sparman
Especially a superstar who was crowned "King" as a high school player, who lacks much education and has an attitude that suggests he believes he is entitled....I have no doubt that James dictated the move but I can't understand how firing Blatt improves the team.
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Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts: 2818
Reg: 11-23-04
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01-24-16 12:57 AM - Post#200061
In response to JadwinGeorge
Blatt is better off on his own. No one would ever credit him as a coach of a team with Le Bron. And I don't mean that as a knock on LeBron. It is just an impossible situation for a coach.
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SRP
Postdoc
Posts: 4919
Reg: 02-04-06
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01-24-16 11:54 PM - Post#200118
In response to Tiger69
I doubt that James initiated this, although they never would have done it without his OK. They had seen Luu as their coach of the future when they signed him to that big assistant contract a couple of years ago. Interestingly, he seems to be able to take a tougher public line with LBJ & Co. than did Blatt, who always seemed to me to be walking on eggshells a bit. Luu called out the team for being out of shape and not running on the break enough in his first postgame (loss) conference.
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Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts: 2818
Reg: 11-23-04
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01-25-16 10:10 AM - Post#200127
In response to SRP
Cleveland was just a stepping stone to Jadwin. 
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1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts: 2277
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Loc: Sandy, Utah
Reg: 11-21-04
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01-25-16 12:01 PM - Post#200131
In response to SRP
I doubt that James initiated this, although they never would have done it without his OK.
I think the players express their opinions through their agents so they can express shock surprise and incredulity with straight faces.
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32877
Reg: 11-21-04
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01-25-16 12:10 PM - Post#200132
In response to SRP
LeBron had no direct involvement? "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"
On the list of coach killers, Magic Johnson still has to be the King--Paul Westhead had them rolling and I remember the Post headline "Poof! You're Fired!"
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JadwinGeorge
Senior
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Age: 75
Reg: 12-04-15
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01-25-16 12:56 PM - Post#200140
In response to palestra38
James' fingerprints are all over this. The team was in first place with a record of 30-11. Why in the world does ownership can the coach to turn the keys over to a guy without previous experience if the superstar does not force the move? You can win a lot of games by getting out of LeBron's way but you won't compete with GS and SA playing one-on-one.
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1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts: 2277
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01-25-16 02:03 PM - Post#200144
In response to JadwinGeorge
By age 35 Jordan had six titles; LeBron is 31 with only two. And watching a LeBron team, one never has the idea that he has a concept of what he wants the team to do (as opposed to himself) to win. One would think with all his talent and money, all he would want is titles. And maybe he does, but it doesn't show.
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penn nation
Professor
Posts: 21276
Reg: 12-02-04
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01-25-16 04:14 PM - Post#200162
In response to 1LotteryPick1969
And remember that LeBron started playing in the NBA at age 18. He has in his NBA years basically dictated at times what team he would play for, the coach for the team and the stars to go with it, something that MJ could only long for.
Do I feel sorry for LeBron? Not one bit. Cleveland's sports fans, however, are a different story.
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SRP
Postdoc
Posts: 4919
Reg: 02-04-06
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01-25-16 08:43 PM - Post#200181
In response to penn nation
Confirming the darker suspicions of those above, and beyond, the following account actually traces the LBJ "camp"'s unwillingness to countenance Blatt to before he even got back to the Cavs. They wanted Mark Jackson and they wanted someone represented by LBJ's agency Klutch Sports. Lue is a compromise candidate (and not a Klutch client).
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-david-blatt- never...
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Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts: 2818
Reg: 11-23-04
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01-26-16 12:04 AM - Post#200194
In response to SRP
Sounds like Blatt is better off on his own. He has the respect of other coaches, a nice pile of cash in his pocket and his foot in the NBA door for the next decent coaching job that comes along.
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SRP
Postdoc
Posts: 4919
Reg: 02-04-06
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01-26-16 09:25 PM - Post#200256
In response to Tiger69
Did you see Popovich's presser after the Warriors blew out his Spurs? His first comment was that he was glad his general manager wasn't in the locker room because the way things had been going lately he might have been fired. Zing!
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1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts: 2277
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Loc: Sandy, Utah
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01-27-16 11:36 AM - Post#200266
In response to SRP
I caught that; pretty funny.
Have there been many successful NBA coaches who never played in the NBA? Especially in the last 25 years? I don't follow closely enough to know the answer.
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32877
Reg: 11-21-04
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01-27-16 11:50 AM - Post#200269
In response to 1LotteryPick1969
Popovich, for one.
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penn nation
Professor
Posts: 21276
Reg: 12-02-04
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01-27-16 12:28 PM - Post#200272
In response to palestra38
Dick Motta
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penn nation
Professor
Posts: 21276
Reg: 12-02-04
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01-27-16 12:38 PM - Post#200274
In response to penn nation
Oh, and how can we forget the Chuckster himself?
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1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts: 2277
Age: 73
Loc: Sandy, Utah
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01-27-16 03:40 PM - Post#200284
In response to penn nation
Interesting trio. Did some quick Wikipedia research.
Motta is an aberration by every criterion; never even played the game high school or college! And come straight from college to the pro's as a coach, albeit in a very different era.
Popavich and Daly both had assistant coaching experience in the NBA before becoming head coaches.
I remember reading articles about Blatt when he was first chosen discussing differences between the Euro game and the NBA game.
Blatt had no NBA experience at all in an era of massive egos and a unique culture. The excellent article cited by SRP mentioned Blatt lacked experience with the "situational" aspects of the NBA game. I'm not sure what that is code for.
I kinda think the players doubted his vision from the beginning.
I hope he takes a college position in the US; maybe he can latch on as an assistant in the NBA.
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32877
Reg: 11-21-04
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01-27-16 04:17 PM - Post#200287
In response to 1LotteryPick1969
I don't think the Cavs' deficit when it comes to the Warriors and Spurs is the coaching (although both of those teams have great coaching). LeBron is getting old (basketball old) and the backcourts don't compare. Still good enough to be 30-11.
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penn nation
Professor
Posts: 21276
Reg: 12-02-04
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01-27-16 04:45 PM - Post#200291
In response to palestra38
The Warriors are blowing everyone out these days; the Cavs are in good company.
At some point in the season, one would expect to see Curry get smacked down by someone just to shake things up.
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SRP
Postdoc
Posts: 4919
Reg: 02-04-06
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01-27-16 09:07 PM - Post#200302
In response to penn nation
Watched a one-on-one with Lue last night on ESPN. He was pretty forthright that he talked to Blatt about what had gone down and Blatt thought that he should have been more assertive and encouraged Lue to put his foot down. Obviously Lue has at least a season of leeway to exert his will, because if he also gets canned quickly for "not relating" or "not making them a winner" LBJ's rep will go into the dumper.
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SomeGuy
Professor
Posts: 6415
Reg: 11-22-04
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01-28-16 03:25 PM - Post#200350
In response to 1LotteryPick1969
Currently, half the coaches in the NBA never played in the NBA.
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1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts: 2277
Age: 73
Loc: Sandy, Utah
Reg: 11-21-04
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01-28-16 03:51 PM - Post#200351
In response to SomeGuy
Interesting.
And how many of them were never an assistant coach either?
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SomeGuy
Professor
Posts: 6415
Reg: 11-22-04
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01-28-16 05:26 PM - Post#200354
In response to 1LotteryPick1969
I believe that Brad Stevens is the only current NBA head coach who neither played nor assisted in the NBA.
There are six total NBA head coaches who never were NBA assistants, by my count (Donovan, Fisher, Kerr, Kidd, Rivers, and Stevens).
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