The Cleveland Cavaliers fired David Blatt on Friday, immediately replacing him with assistant coach Tyronn Lue. The move sent a shockwave around the NBA for a Cleveland team sitting atop the Eastern Conference at 30-11 and considered a heavy favorite to return to the NBA Finals. However, rumors that Blatt’s job was unsafe have circulated for nearly his entire coaching career in Cleveland.
A timeline of David Blatt’s short, strange career as Cavaliers coach
Cleveland fired David Blatt on Friday, not even two years after bringing him in as head coach.
Since being hired by the Cavaliers in June 2014, a month before LeBron James announced he would be leaving Miami to return home to Cleveland, there have been questions about Blatt’s ability to lead the roster. Although he had 20 years of experience as a head coach on the international stage, Blatt had never worked in the NBA prior to accepting the Cleveland job. When they hired him, the Cavaliers were still a rebuilding team, not knowing that James would join the roster. The relationship never truly prospered thereafter.
Here’s a complete timeline of how Blatt’s tenure with the Cavaliers transpired, from initial rumors that he was on the hot seat two Decembers ago, to losing the Finals last June, to his actual firing on Friday.
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