Any time a high-profile coach is torn between two teams, one fan base is going to end up disappointed. In this case it was the Cavs. Cue the euphoria from our Spartans faithful at The Only Colors:
Reaction To Tom Izzo’s Decision To Stay At Michigan State, Not Coach The Cavs
Overall, it was refreshing to see the Tom Izzo we all know and love back in the public eye, offering honest and direct answers about Dan Gilbert (major factor in considering gig), LeBron James (ditto), and the conversations he had with his family and former players (major factor in staying; thank you, again, Raquel Izzo for your devotion to MSU). Unfortunately, the university-vs.-media stuff overwhelmed the other portions of Izzo’s comments. [...]
To the extent Izzo dragged this out an extra 24 hours beyond the optimal announcement point, he more than made up for it with his “here for life at Michigan State” statement (his spoken comments fully backing up the written statement that was issued before the press conference). That’s exactly the kind of reassurance MSU players, recruits, fans, and supporters needed to hear. And, to me, it came across as entirely genuine. If he didn’t make the leap to go work for an NBA owner he obviously admires and potentially coach the most talented basketball player in the modern NBA, he’s never going to leap.
As for Cleveland, the fans at Fear The Sword explain that Izzo’s decision was all about one thing: where LeBron goes in free agency this summer (but really, what isn’t?):
It is quite obvious to see that Izzo was only going to come to Cleveland if he could ride on the back of a superstar once he got here. It was never about being the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and all about possibly being the coach of LeBron James. And with James's silence, with James's refusal to budge from his self-imposed moratorium on giving any clues before July, Izzo did the only safe thing he could do, and hedged his bets, choosing to stay where he is adored rather than to take a leap into the unknown and perhaps, in five years, finding himself in the company of Mike Brown.
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