NBA coaches tend to stick up for one another. After all, there are only 30 of them at a time, so the feeling of brotherhood is inescapable, even if they are not close in real life. Because of that, every time one of them loses his job, the shows of support are almost inevitable. The firing of David Blatt was not an exception.
Stan Van Gundy calls David Blatt firing ‘the theater of the absurd’
SVG never holds back.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Gregg Popovich and Byron Scott talked about how in their business sometimes unfair things happen even to those who get results. Steve Kerr joked about how since two of the four coaches of the teams that reached the conference finals last season have been fired, Mike Budenholzer and him should probably be worried about their job security. Scott Skiles lamented that even winning isn't enough to keep a job anymore.
Everyone sided with Blatt, but few were really passionate in his defense. Rick Carlisle was one of the exceptions, as he said he "was embarrassed for (the) league that something like that could happen." The always fiery Stan Van Gundy, however, decided to go even further when asked about the Cavaliers' decision:
Stan Van Gundy on CLE firing David Blatt after 30-11 start: "That elevated all of the coach firings totally into the theater of the absurd."
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) January 23, 2016
SVG: "You can't even make a flimsy case that the guy wasn't meeting expectations...Obviously you have something else going on."
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) January 23, 2016
SVG: "Did he order the wrong type of food for post game meals? Did he not give David Griffin a nice enough Christmas present? I don't know."
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) January 23, 2016
SVG: "If David Blatt's getting fired how in the hell do the rest of us have jobs? Because our front offices aren't quite as crazy as theirs"
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) January 23, 2016
SVG: "The only thing more absurd would be...Walton did a good job, if we lose 2 in a row, we might have to dump [Kerr] & go back to Luke."
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) January 23, 2016
Van Gundy was fired from the Magic for a rift with Dwight Howard, despite taking the team to the conference finals, so maybe this one hit close to home. The way he feels about coaches' job security is likely why he pushed to get front office control before taking over the Pistons, which he got. He knows firsthand how things work in the NBA.
It’s always refreshing to hear Van Gundy’s opinions regardless of the subject because he never holds anything back. The now former Cavaliers’ coach will surely appreciate the genuine show of support from one of the NBA’s most respected coaches.
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End of the line: David Blatt fired by Cavaliers
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