Breaking? Rumors of foot injury for Joel Embiid
June 19, 2014Listen: Tom Hamilton’s call of Nick Swisher’s Walk-off Grand Slam
June 19, 2014And then there were two. Having spent the majority of the last six weeks interviewing and deliberating over potential head coaching candidates, the Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly choosing between their final two men: Los Angeles Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach David Blatt.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that not only are these two candidates the final two, but that the team is expected to make a decision soon in anticipation of the June 26 NBA Draft.
Former Phoenix Suns head coach Alvin Gentry was long believed to be the frontrunner for the job due to his experience and relationship with Cavs GM David Griffin. Lue and Blatt represent wild cards in that neither have previous NBA head coaching experience, but both come highly recommended by peers throughout the league. Blatt, however, was recently advised to not take the Cleveland job but instead become a well-compensated assistant under Steve Kerr in Golden State. Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reports that as recent as the last three hours, the Cavs were still doing their due diligence on the 55-year-old Blatt.
Whomever is ultimately hired will represent the third Cavs head coach in three seasons. It is expected that, following the NBA Draft, they will meet with All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving to discuss the future of the franchise. Windhorst reports that the Cavs are believed to be drawn to Lue because of the way he’s been able to connect and develop young players. The Cavs can offer Irving a contract extension on July 1.
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Photo: Associated Press
7 Comments
Hiring Blatt might be a genius move or an exploding cigar, I have no idea.
What I do know is hiring the Euro offensive guru would complete an abrupt rejection of everything Gilbert said he wanted just a year ago – defense first. That’s fine, Dan, as long as you draft for it, trade for it, fully commit to this philosophy, GM and coach long term. And then let the guys you hired do their thing with minimal nibby-nosing into their bidness, even if there’s a learning curve. No more abrupt. Once you’ve decided and set it up, git.
If true, then +1 to Griffin for removing Alvin Gentry off the list.
https://twitter.com/SamAmicoFSO/status/479723756659945472
Amico, Woj, etc. reporting that closed door meeting taking place now. Announcement could come any time tonight.
Euro style? You mean avoiding the paint, jacking up threes, and flopping around like a fish.
LeBron will come back for sure. 😀
I view Euro coaches like college coaches. It’s too much of a change to expect them to be immediate successes without some time as an assistant.
But, I still prefer Blatt to the retreads. Lue is a swing for the fences hire too, so either is fine with me. Will be interested to see who either would hire onto their staff and if they will actually allow their staff to do their jobs on gamedays (sorry, Mike Brown pet peeve remnant).
So Windhorst wrote the article on Blatt on espn.com. Coincidence? Or conspiracy!