The Cleveland Cavaliers fired, hired, and most recently fired Mike Brown in a three year span. Byron Scott won just 63 games combined in his time as Cleveland coach. And maybe most depressingly, John Calipari reportedly turned down a 10-year, $80 million contract to coach the Cavs. But none of those past coaching maladies matter now, as sources say that Cleveland is close to reaching terms with revered Euroleague coach David Blatt.
Rumblings in recent days had the Cavaliers narrowing their coaching search to Blatt and Los Angeles Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue. However, General Manager David Griffin and company decided that Blatt was their man on Thursday afternoon. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports has more:
The Cavaliers and Blatt’s representatives are in the process of negotiating terms of a deal, but no agreement has been reached, sources said…
Gilbert and general manager David Griffin huddled on Thursday and zeroed in on a decision to choose Blatt over Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Tyronn Lue. The Cavaliers had been extremely fond of Lue and considered him a potential coaching star in the NBA, sources said.
Cleveland was under pressure to make a decision on Thursday because Blatt was prepared to accept an assistant coaching job under Steve Kerr with the Golden State Warriors.
Blatt, 55, amicably parted ways with 2014 Euroleague Champion Maccabi Tel Aviv in June. His final season with Maccabi was a defining one, as his team won the the title by beating Real Madrid 98-86 in overtime after a surprisingly rough beginning to its season. Blatt spent four years as head coach of Maccabi after serving as an assistant for the team from 1999-2004.
NBA fans most likely know Blatt from his time as coach of the Russian National Team. Blatt helped the Russians to a surprising bronze medal-winning performance in the 2012 Olympic Games, earning consensus praise for his merits as a strategist in the process.
A Massachusetts native, Blatt played point guard under legendary coach Pete Carril at Princeton in the late 1970s. Unsurprisingly, his teams have featured elements of the Princeton Offense in the past.
While the jury is out on Blatt as a NBA coach, those in the know are optimistic he’ll do well with the Cavaliers. And from what we can tell, rightfully so.
Among NBA executives who've spent significant time overseas watching David Blatt, Cavs-Blatt partnership being met with tremendous reviews.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 20, 2014
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