It's not healthy to keep changing coaches when all you're aiming for is to develop a team's identity. They should stick with Blatt and mediate between him and the players to reach a happy medium. Blatt couldn't be a worse coach than Spoelstra, just give him time to shake things around and experiment. Bron should be showing more maturity at this stage instead of pouting like a spoiled brat. He should try to influence the coach, to build a relationship instead of acting out and letting the ship to sink. What kind of message that sends to Love and any other potential FA/coach that might be interested in joining the Cavs? Man up, take the loses and give your whole effort and everyone will follow through.
I would say Wade's true peak is 09. He was arguably the best player in the league that year. 06 Wade was a beast, but he simply was NOT as good as Kobe that season. 06 Kobe was a legendary player, he was simply surrounded with a fucking HORRIBLE team that year. Still dragged those bums into the playoffs that year, and almost passed the Suns.
Seems like James is back to his old prima donna/bullying days. http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/3445/cavs-enter-2015-at-boiling-point
It's Not Healthy Keeping an INEPT Coach Around, Either...If Blatt's NOT the Guy & if Cleveland KNOW'S Blatt's Not the Guy, they Should Cut Ties Immediately... Hell, it Took the Lakers like 3 Days to Fire Mike Brown, so it's NOT Unprecedented to Make an NBA Coaching Change Very Early in his 1st Season... Spoelstra Wasn't a Coach on the Level of Gregg Poppovich, Red Auerbach or Anything, but he Had a STRONG Front Office Guy (Pat Riley) SUPPORTING him...The Cavs Have No Such Presence of THAT Ilk, to Keep Ego's in Check... REED:hammert:
What EXACTLY has Blatt Done, to DESERVE the Benefit of the Doubt Here???:dunno:... According to the Article, it's NOT Just Bron that has Issues w/Blatt, Either...His X's and O's are LACKING...His Ability to Communicate is LACKING...His Ability to Lead a Team is LACKING...There's Really No Positive Spin to Place on Blatt, @ the Moment... Bron's @ the Tail End of his Prime...He's Probably Got Another 2 Years MAX, Where he'll Be in the "Best Player in the League" Discussion...The Cavs have to Be a CHAMPIONSHIP Level Team in that Span, Which they Simply AREN'T @ the Moment... They're a Fucking 5th Seed in the East, as REED Types:scared:... Changes HAVE to Be Made, Bro...Mark Jackson's a STRONG Personality, he WANTS to Coach Again & He'd Likely SALIVATE @ the Notion of Having the Cavs Talent @ his Disposal... The Cavs Future is Now...RIGHT NOW!!!... REED:mj:
Mark Jackson supposedly isn't a good coach at all. Wheres Jeff Van Gundy at? I think he'd be a good candidate to turn this team around.
disagREED... Steph Curry Became "STEPH CURRY!!!" Under Mark Jackson's Watch...He Called Curry and Klay Thompson "The Best Shooting Backcourt in NBA History", 3 YEARS Ago...& he's RIGHT... Golden State was a Perennial Lottery Team Prior to Mark Jackson...5 FULL Seasons of MISSING the Playoffs, Struggling to Win Even 30 Games...The Warriors Advanced to the Conference Finals in Jackson's 2nd Season, Won 50 Games Last Season... Granted, Steve Kerr Seems to Be Taking Golden State to an Even HIGHER Level, but that Doesn't Diminish what Jackson Accomplished in the FORMATIVE Years of the "Splash Brothers"... Mark Jackson KNOWS the Game, he has True LEADERSHIP Qualities, he CONVEYS his Messages Well & he has Built In CREDIBILITY, Having Played Many Years, Coached & Announced...Also, Jackson was a PG, so the X's and O's of the Game Aren't Foreign to Him... REED Isn't Even Sure if Jackson Would Be INTERESTED in Coaching the Cavs, but Dan Gilbert Would Be Crazy Not to GAUGE that Interest, @ the Very Least... REED:mj:
i think jackson would be crazy not to be interested in coaching cleveland, unless he simply doesnt want to coach anymore. what better job would become available. that said, i doubt they pull the plug on blatt already
Van Gundy WOULDN'T Be a Poor Choice, but he's Always Been More of a SYSTEM Coach... Instead of Assessing his Squads Talents, Individually, & Formulating a STYLE of Play from There, Van Gundy Seems to Want ANY Team he Coaches to Play As his Mid 90's Knicks Did... REED:mj:
Brother REED I understand your point. James is in a WIN NOW mode. The whole Cavs organization is, but it is a given than any newly constructed team will have to go through losing slumps and internal struggles before finally clicking and gelling. The Cavs are even playing better than the newly formed Heat back in 2010. I don't understand James' behavior when he could approach the coach and talk through his problems with the system. He's a respectable figure and I'm pretty sure that if he sat with Blatt and spoke openly, the coach will listen and things could be worked out. This is the same problem that happened with Mike Brown and happened with Erik Spoelstra Remember this?: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-lebronspoelstra112910 (Riley didn't let James bully the organization like Gilbert did/does). James has been spoiled since he was a child. He just can't play in a system where he is asked to be disciplined. Blatt has a reputation of being a no nonsense coach in international leagues and he won't let James disrupt his system. I know Blatt is learning the NBA style of play, but you have to at least give him time to adjust and tweak the team. The Cavs have a competitive core but their bench is not exactly elite. They won't win it all this year, but they should all compete as if they can. James has been playing half assed, and his game with Miami was embarrassing. Where's his competitive spirit?? You have to give Blatt the benefit of the doubt when his best player and team leader is not able to put the whole team behind him and is not giving his 100% himself.
Granted, Bron Probably SHOULD Give David Blatt MORE of a Chance, but @ the End of the Day, it's Not Something Bron HAS to Do...He Has EVERY Drop of Leverage w/the Cavs...He's NOT Signed Beyond this Season & Dan Gilbert will NEVER Dare Ruffle Bron's Feathers Again... Sure, it'd Be NICE if Bron EMBRACED the Challenge & TRIED to Make it Work...But even if he Did That, there's NO Guarantee Blatt Proves WORTHY of Bron Trusting Him Enough to @ Least TRY...& for All Anybody Knows, Perhaps Bron HAS Tried... LeBron James IS NOT a Confrontational Guy...SPOILED, Yes, but NOT a Mean Spirited, Standoffish Dude...But Let's Face it, Blatt Has ZERO NBA Coaching Experience & BARELY Any Recent Experience Coaching AMERICAN Players...He's Never Even Been an NBA Assistant Coach, so Literally, Blatt has NO Points Of Reference... There's a VERY Good Chance Blatt DOESN'T Know what the Fuck he's Doing...& if he's ALREADY Lost the Team's Best Player &/or the Squad Itself, the BEST Thing to Do is Cut Ties, in REED's Opinion... Bron's THE Most Publicized, Chronicled and Dissected Basketball Player EVER...& there's NOT a Close 2nd to Him, in that Regard...If Blatt Hasn't EARNED Bron's Faith, Trust & Confidence by Now, WHY Should Bron Extend an Olive Branch???...Who Has MORE to Lose in this Situation???... If the Cavs &/or NBA Doesn't Work Out for Blatt, he Can Always Go Back Overseas...But if Bron FAILS to Win @ Least 1 Ring in Cleveland (Especially with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on his Team) , his Legacy Will Endure a MAJOR Dent... REED Gets What You're Saying, but @ the Same Time, there's Been ZERO Evidence of David Blatt Being EQUIPPED to Eventually Lead the Cavs to a Championship... REED:dunno:
I think this "win now" principle is what's killing Cleveland. The media is to be blamed for this too. I swear they've televised EVERY SINGLE Cavs game on national tv, and every time the Cavs lose... It is THE HEADLINE you see on ESPN. Every year that Cleveland doesn't win a title, it's gonna be deemed a FAILURE and the Cavs will continue to make desperate moves. I think Kyrie Irving is a big part of the problem. It seems he wants to be just as much THE MAN as is Lebron instead of playing the point guard position the way it is supposed to be played. This is also a coaching problem. I see no pick and rolls, no movement off the ball, nobody looking for the open man. It's the same ISOLATION nonsense that OKC runs with Durant and Westbrook. And that shit is not gonna win championships at top level. And last but not least, the defense is in shambles. No type of set up or schemes. The Cavs do have time, but I don't see them going far in the playoffs. 2nd round exit at best for them.
Blatt's system focuses on ball movement. It's the players that are ISO heavy and refuse to play within the system.
The BIGGEST difference between the Heat Lebron played with, and the Cavs is; firstly, Lebron played along side the 3rd best SG of all time, and Bosh was a very good role player who can defend. Kyrie, and Love are both good INDIVIDUAL players, but they aren't exactly guys you win a championship with. Neither one can play D, Kyrie is a ball dominant ISO player, and Love has a very limited offensive game. This Big 3 is simply not built like MIA's was. A younger Wade ALONE is a better player than Irving and Love COMBINED.
I'm actually a fan of Irving. He's a very fun player to watch, but so was Steve Francis. Francis, just like Irving, was a flashy ISO player who you can't really win with. The ideal PG for the Cavs would be John Wall.
Kyrie and Love could make a very good pick and pop tandem, and a very difficult one to guard since Love can both shoot and pass at an elite level. The problem is that Lebron expects the system to revolve around him and Kyrie and Love are both supposed to camp behind the three point line to favor Bron's drive and kick out winning formula.
Yeah, Lebron seems to think he's still 25. This season it's apparent that his physical gifts are declining. Perhaps he doesn't see it yet. In the late 90s when Jordan's athleticism declined, he adjusted his game. Can Bron do the same?
CLE Give: Dion Waiters, Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk CLE Get: Iman Shumpert, JR Smith OKC Give: Lance Thomas, Future Protected 1st OKC Get: Dion Waiters NYK Give: Iman Shumpert, JR Smith NYK Get: Lance Thomas, Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk, OKC Future Protected 1st NYK waives Sam Dalembert
Why would Cleveland want JR Smith. I get that Irving and Waiters didn't get along and didn't mesh together, but JR Smith is just as much of a head case and problem.
Apparently Cavs were interested in Shumpert but the Knicks wanted to dump Smith's salary too and the Cavs accepted.
agREED.... JR Smith Won't See the Light of Day in Cleveland...Dion Waiters is a CHOIR BOY, by Comparison... REED:mj:
Smith could be a good scorer off the bench. Not long ago, he was the sixth man of the year. Cavs should get a much needed rim protector. They should target Larry Sanders if possible.
Cleveland - Need Shumpert to improve their D, and needed to dump Waiters. Problem is Shumpert is a free agent next season so this could turn out to be just a rental. It might actually be a good idea to keep Smith around for a while until they know the real status of Lebron. His knee or back issues could require surgery at some point. New York - A good move that gets them under the cap once they renounce the unguaranteed contracts they just picked up and word is they're going to wave Dalembert too who is also expected to wind up in Cleveland. These moves do nothing as far as fixing the losing they're experiencing now, but it looks like the plan is to get under the tax and possibly tank for the draft. If that happens don't be shocked to hear Melo start asking for a trade again. I mean why move teams for less money when you can stay with your old team for the real max and bitch off the team afterwards. OkC - This was obviously a move to replace or possibly even allow a trade of Reggie Jackson. There's noway they'll be able to afford him after this season when he becomes a free agent. Waiters is a much worse player though, and I hope we aren't going to keep him. If Waiters starts some of his nonsense, it'll be really interesting to see how Russell Westbrook deals with it, because Russ don't take no guff. I'm not happy this might cut into Perry Jones' minutes but I am happy we got rid of the useless Lance Thompson who should rightfully be out of the league now. That guy is not an NBA player. Now if only we could have traded coaches with Cleveland, because I'd make that trade in a heartbeat.
Dalembert isn't a big pickup for anybody. There's a reason nobody ever keeps the guy for more than one long disappointing year, but I do agree they probably have little choice but to take him because they have no better option. Personally I'd rather do like the Heat did with Hassan Whiteside & look for somebody in the D-League or overseas rather than waste my time on Dalembert.
