David Blatt Comments on Cavaliers, Future as Head Coach, More
Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt was fired in the middle of the 2015-16 season despite posting a 30-11 record and guiding the team to the NBA Finals in his first year at the helm.
As USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt reported Sunday, Blatt expressed a strong desire to return to coaching next season—be it in the NBA or elsewhere—while running a Canada Basketball clinic Saturday.
"I don't see myself not being a head coach somewhere, but you never know," said Blatt. "I'm going to coach next year. I'm not going to sit out. It's not in my nature. I want to work. ... I'll be back somewhere. Could be anywhere."
Blatt also spoke at the clinic about his coaching history, which spans 23 years and doesn't consist of a single season off, per Zillgitt. The 57-year-old hinted at how his relationship with Cavs superstar LeBron James may have contributed to his Cleveland ouster and differed from his experience overseas.
"The role of the coach is much larger as far as impact and persona," Blatt said. "It's much more of a coaches' show. In the NBA, it's a players' show. ... You better be on the same page as your best player. If not, you’re going to be in trouble."
But Blatt didn't publicly express any bitterness or hard feelings and opted to see the silver lining when he discussed being fired from his high-profile job, per Zillgitt:
"I will say this: I'm really happy for the players I coached and for the staff that I worked with and for the job that they're doing because they're doing good work. They really are. [...] If you're a coach, you're going to get hit in the head once in a while. Believe in yourself. Never give up. Keep striving.
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Tyronn Lue took over Blatt's post, kept the Cavs atop the East and guided the squad to 10 straight playoff victories before Saturday's Game 3 road loss to the Toronto Raptors in the conference finals.
Lue has made Cleveland more of an uptempo team and seems to have gotten through to James in a way Blatt never could, be it urging The King to cease controversial social-media conduct or sternly reproving him in a team huddle.
The Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets are among those who currently have coaching vacancies, but Blatt reportedly already interviewed for the latter opening and has yet to be hired, per ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Calvin Watkins.
Stein reported this past Thursday that Blatt has an open invitation to reclaim his old job as coach of Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv and has Spanish teams also interested in his services.
In light of his comments, Blatt appears resigned to the fact that he could be looking beyond the NBA for the chance to be a head coach—at least for next season.
Should Blatt uphold the standard of success he did in his brief time with the Cavs and get a better grip on his team's locker room, though, the Association could come calling again soon enough.
