Stories are leaking out about LeBron James that paint him as a coach killer. David Blatt’s firing, which came at a time when he had the Cavaliers at 30-11 and in first place in the Eastern Conference, has brought up questions about James and his power within the organization.
James is claiming that he had no hand in Blatt’s firing, but not many people believe him. Respected TNT analyst David Aldridge called B.S. on James’ denial.
LeBron Claims He Wasn't Consulted About Firing David Blatt
“The late, great Chuck Daly used to say that NBA players allow you to coach them. It is never a balanced, even relationship. It never has been. If Tim Duncan woke up one morning and wanted coach Gregg Popovich gone, he'd be gone. Players are the rare commodity. Coaches, unfortunately for them, are not,” Aldridge wrote.
And for all James’ protestations, this isn’t the first time he’s tried backstage politics to get his coach canned. “With the Miami Heat, LeBron James—before and after his four seasons when his contract was up with the team—made it clear that he wanted to dump head coach Erik Spoelstra,” former Heat minority owner Ranaan Katz told Ofira Asayag on ONE.co.il’s 102FM (via Bleacher Report). Katz was also a shareholder in Maccabi Tel Aviv while Blatt coached there, so keep that in mind.
David Blatt Replaced By LeBron Acolyte Tryonn Lue
“At one point, [Heat President] Pat Riley called LeBron into his office said that no one will tell him how to run the organization. Riley told James that Spoelstra is his guy, and that firing Spoelstra is out of the question. That was the main reason LeBron returned to Cleveland.”
James is still the best player in the world, but his maneuvering in Cleveland has begun to erode the good will he gained by going back home. He’s often referred to derisively as “GM LeBron,” and is viewed to have orchestrated the trade that sent 2014 No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins to Minnesota for Kevin Love. He also pressured the Cavaliers to spend big money on forward Tristan Thompson, leaving Cleveland long on big men, and vulnerable to the Warriors’ small-ball attack.
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