The Cleveland Cavaliers are close to an agreement with David Blatt to become their next head coach. According to reports, the hiring will hurt Cleveland’s chances at recruiting LeBron James this summer.
ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports:
Nothing against David Blatt, but if Cavs finalize deal w/him any chance they had of getting LeBron shrinks considerably.
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 20, 2014
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Cabs should've waited until they met with LeBron b4 hiring a coach. He'll want a proven coach
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 20, 2014
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The entire concept of waiting for LeBron to tell them which coach to hire seems desperate especially when you take into account how far-fetched his return to Cleveland really is this summer.
In recent days, the Cavaliers narrowed down their coaching search to Blatt and Tyronn Lue, neither of whom have head coaching experience in the league. So the entire interview process was not catered towards LeBron in the first place, nor should it have been.
It sounds absurd, to wait on hiring a coach because of one single player, but it also speaks volumes about the power LeBron has — or could have — should he choose to become a free agent this summer. While the coaching position is important, in the end, the quality of the roster will be the single biggest deciding factor for LeBron.
The Cavs have intriguing pieces on their team. Despite all the lottery picks they’ve selected since LeBron’s departure, they’re still behind the rebuilding process. Whether it’s Blatt, Lue, or someone else, the players are much more important than who is sitting on the bench.
Besides, if Dan Gilbert really wants a shot at LeBron, he only needs to send him this video and remove this open letter from the team site.
What do you think?
Follow steven lebron on Twitter at @steven_lebron.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
