Poor David Blatt.
Blatt was brought over by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the wake of LeBron’s return to the team. Blatt was a “basketball genius” by all accounts, and would be bringing the unique style of play that garnered him untold success overseas to a team with the superstar pieces to make it all happen.
Then, Blatt was fired midway through the 2015-2016 season. One day many years from now, there will be a 3,000-word feature on just what the hell happened. How did an international basketball coaching legend get canned in favor of the guy Allen Iverson stepped over in the 2001 Finals, who’d never held a head coaching position before? Did LeBron James pull off a Frank Underwood? Was it Dan Gilbert who’d had enough? Who knows.
The point is, Tyronn Lue took the reigns of the team in January, and 6 months later was crowned an NBA Champion. To Lue’s credit, he’s much more than the guy A.I. stepped over. He’s a studious basketball mind who honed his craft helping to orchestrate schemes for the Celtics and Clippers, two teams who have done well for themselves in recent years. And now, Lue gets his payday to the tune of $35 million on a 5-year contract.
Re-signing Lue was a priority for the Cavs this summer that they can finally put behind them, but they’ve got more work to do. LeBron James and J.R. Smith are expected to return to the team, but neither has signed on the dotted line yet.
