Erik Spoelstra is the latest NBA coach to sound off about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ decision to fire David Blatt.
Spoelstra, who coached LeBron James on the Miami Heat for four seasons, winning two titles, called the Blatt firing “very disturbing.”
Erik Spoelstra on Blatt firing: "It’s very disturbing for the coaching profession. You have to be able to go through collective adversity."
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) January 24, 2016
Spoelstra: "It’s really a shame. He had an incredible run, a great record. It just doesn’t make sense to any of the coaches around the NBA."
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) January 24, 2016
If anyone can relate to Blatt’s situation, it’s Spoelstra. He had two successful seasons as head coach of the Heat before James and Chris Bosh joined the team. After that, the expectations went through the roof, and every time the Heat struggled, people called for Spoelstra’s job. Luckily he had Pat Riley standing behind him and was never fired. He ended up taking Miami to four straight finals.
Blatt took the Cavs to the NBA Finals last season and had the team leading the Eastern Conference again this season. But the Cavs were not happy with what they were seeing and decided to make the change.
Spoelstra’s comments were a much more polite version of what Stan Van Gundy said. The Detroit Pistons head coach called the Cavs front office “crazy” for firing Blatt.
