Fansided

Tyronn Lue thought firing David Blatt wasn’t right

By Charles Rahrig V

Nov 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt, left, talks with assistant Tyronn Lue during a game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 96-86. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt, left, talks with assistant Tyronn Lue during a game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 96-86. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue thought firing David Blatt was very open about the firing of David Blatt.

While the Cleveland Cavaliers are back in their second straight NBA Finals and the state of basketball in Cleveland has never been better. It didn’t always seem that way this year for the Cavaliers and the lowest point of their season was when the franchise fired head coach David Blatt, as it felt the team had plenty of chemistry issues.

Then there was plenty of criticism when Tyronn Lue was promoted to head coach and many felt it was due to the fact that he was the friend of LeBron James. With the Cavaliers now playing their best basketball and destined to run the Eastern Conference for the near future, all those criticisms are nothing but an afterthought now.

Still, Lue had some interesting things to say to Cleveland.com about the firing of Blatt. While it was a big opportunity for Lue to take over, he was initially not happy with how it went down and didn’t think it was the right decision for Cavaliers general manager David Griffin to make.

"“This is f—– up, Griff.”"

It’s safe to say that Lue wasn’t afraid to share his thoughts on the matter. The article further states that Lue pleaded with Griffin and not to fire Blatt. Eventually, Lue would eventually come around to the decision and the rest was history.

"“What’s done is done. I’m asking you if you can lead this team?” It had taken a few minutes, but Griffin got the response he sought.“Yeah, I can f—ing lead this team.”"

While Lue may have been painted in a bad light at the time, it’s clear from his comments that like many others he was upset about the decision to fire Blatt, who had the Cavaliers out in front again in the Eastern Conference.

It’s hard to say if they would have built the chemistry that they have now with Blatt still at the helm, but it’s good to know the newest coach came to his defense and didn’t simply just push him out of the way to take his opportunity.

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