DAVID BLATT has been fired! News broke on Friday that Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin pulled the plug on Blatt, and LeBron "was not consulted, only informed" of the decision. But one can assume that The King had everything to do with the firing: when Blatt was initially hired in the summer of 2014 (as LeBron came back home), James and his agent Rich Paul had already drawn up Blatt's replacement: ex-Warriors coach Mark Jackson. Blatt also had trouble adjusting to "LeBron World", where James would talk openly about his issues regarding the staff, had more coaching power than did Blatt, and sometimes wouldn't even do the drawn-up play.
Still, Blatt led an injured Cavs team to a 53-29 record and a Finals appearance last year, and was 30-11 and #1 in the East so far this season. Coaches around the league were disappointed with the firing, and Celtics coach Brad Stevens said that Blatt "won't be unemployed for long."
Assistant head coach Tyronn Lue was named as the new head coach and signed to a 3 year/$9.5 million deal. It should come as no shock that: "James' fondness for Lue and his desire to be coached by a former player were well known in the organization, as were issues with Blatt." For the record, Cleveland lost 96-83 in Lue's debut. Lue has been very respectful about the whole process, even stating that Blatt should coach the East for the All-Star game.
We're told that LeBron had nothing to do with the firing, but we know that's not the case. As a wise man once said: "Let the managers manage, let the coaches coach, and let the players play."
THE ALL-STAR VOTING RESULTS are in for the starters. In the West (in order of most to least votes): Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook. Why Kobe was there, again (over the likes of Draymond Green, James Harden, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, etc.), is beyond me, and my opinion on the entire voting process can be read here. In the East (sorted same way), we got LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Paul George, Kyle Lowry, and Carmelo Anthony. Pau Gasol missed out on taking Carmelo's starting spot by a mere 360 votes (they each received around 567,000). Remember that these 10 starters were voted only by the fans, and the remaining 20 spots (10 for each conference) will be selected by the coaches. The All-Star game itself will be on Saturday, February 13 in Toronto. Because the NBA is "going international", right?
STEVE KERR on the other hand, is back! After spending half of the season recovering from offseason back surgery, the 6-time champ returned to the bench for Saturday night's win against the Pacers. Kerr, of course, led the Warriors to a league-best 67-15 record last season, as well as the team's first NBA title in 40 years in six games over the Cleveland Cavaliers (and David Blatt). Luke Walton stepped up admirably in Kerr's absence, however, leading Golden State to a 39-4 record. But unfortunately for him, Walton will get credit for none of those wins, as he was only an interim head coach while Kerr was still the official head coach, and wins can only be credited to the head coaches. Walton, who still won Coach of the Month in November, has an official record of 0-0 with the Warriors, while Kerr will usurp those wins and now has an official record of 107-19. Poor Luke, but on the bright side his father isn't Darth Vader (or should I say light side? Or dark side? Forget it).
JOSH SMITH is also back... to Houston. The Clippers' forward was just not working out, averaging 5.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 14.5 minutes per game on a mere 38.3% shooting from the field. After a colossal failure in Detroit for a couple of years, Smith signed with Houston partway through last season, and actually played a key role for the team: 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game while knocking down a respectable 33% of his three-pointers. The teams swapped the draft rights to Sergei Lishouk (to Houston) and Maarty Leunen (to LA) in the deal. Smith needs the Rockets, and the Rockets need Smith, but Houston, you still have a problem.
Still, Blatt led an injured Cavs team to a 53-29 record and a Finals appearance last year, and was 30-11 and #1 in the East so far this season. Coaches around the league were disappointed with the firing, and Celtics coach Brad Stevens said that Blatt "won't be unemployed for long."
Assistant head coach Tyronn Lue was named as the new head coach and signed to a 3 year/$9.5 million deal. It should come as no shock that: "James' fondness for Lue and his desire to be coached by a former player were well known in the organization, as were issues with Blatt." For the record, Cleveland lost 96-83 in Lue's debut. Lue has been very respectful about the whole process, even stating that Blatt should coach the East for the All-Star game.
We're told that LeBron had nothing to do with the firing, but we know that's not the case. As a wise man once said: "Let the managers manage, let the coaches coach, and let the players play."
THE ALL-STAR VOTING RESULTS are in for the starters. In the West (in order of most to least votes): Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook. Why Kobe was there, again (over the likes of Draymond Green, James Harden, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, etc.), is beyond me, and my opinion on the entire voting process can be read here. In the East (sorted same way), we got LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Paul George, Kyle Lowry, and Carmelo Anthony. Pau Gasol missed out on taking Carmelo's starting spot by a mere 360 votes (they each received around 567,000). Remember that these 10 starters were voted only by the fans, and the remaining 20 spots (10 for each conference) will be selected by the coaches. The All-Star game itself will be on Saturday, February 13 in Toronto. Because the NBA is "going international", right?
STEVE KERR on the other hand, is back! After spending half of the season recovering from offseason back surgery, the 6-time champ returned to the bench for Saturday night's win against the Pacers. Kerr, of course, led the Warriors to a league-best 67-15 record last season, as well as the team's first NBA title in 40 years in six games over the Cleveland Cavaliers (and David Blatt). Luke Walton stepped up admirably in Kerr's absence, however, leading Golden State to a 39-4 record. But unfortunately for him, Walton will get credit for none of those wins, as he was only an interim head coach while Kerr was still the official head coach, and wins can only be credited to the head coaches. Walton, who still won Coach of the Month in November, has an official record of 0-0 with the Warriors, while Kerr will usurp those wins and now has an official record of 107-19. Poor Luke, but on the bright side his father isn't Darth Vader (or should I say light side? Or dark side? Forget it).
JOSH SMITH is also back... to Houston. The Clippers' forward was just not working out, averaging 5.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 14.5 minutes per game on a mere 38.3% shooting from the field. After a colossal failure in Detroit for a couple of years, Smith signed with Houston partway through last season, and actually played a key role for the team: 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game while knocking down a respectable 33% of his three-pointers. The teams swapped the draft rights to Sergei Lishouk (to Houston) and Maarty Leunen (to LA) in the deal. Smith needs the Rockets, and the Rockets need Smith, but Houston, you still have a problem.
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