Cavaliers coach David Blatt fired

David Blatt, head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers has been fired after spending just one and a half seasons in Cleveland.

General Manager David Griffin announced that Associate Head Coach Tyronn Lue will take over as the team's head coach and the current assistant coaches will continue to work with the team and remain under contract.

“On behalf of the organization, I would like to thank David Blatt for his efforts and commitment to this franchise,” said Griffin. “He spent the last year and a half battling intense scrutiny, working to mold a very willful group and we all recognize that is not at all an easy task.”

“But with that said, when you have the clarity of purpose that our ownership has instilled in this entire organization, decisions often make themselves. Every decision made is an answer to the following question: does it put us in the best position to deliver Championships to Northeast, Ohio.”

“So, today, we are elevating Tyronn Lue, from his role as Associate Head Coach to Head Coach. I am more than confident that he will have the pulse of our team and the buy-in required to enhance the habits and culture that will foster the kind of identity and results we must have," Griffin said.

Blatt served as the team's 19th head coach, joining the team in June 2014 and amassing a regular season record of 83-40 and 14-6 in the playoff's last year.

Dan Gilbert, the majority owner of the team said, "over the course of my business career I have learned that sometimes the hardest thing to do is the also the right thing to do."

“Our ownership group supports David Griffin’s decision.  We would like to thank David Blatt for his work over these past two seasons where the Cavaliers transformed into a playoff team after a rebuilding phase.  We believe Tyronn Lue is the right coach at the right time to put us in the best position to take the last but most challenging step to complete our mission to deliver Cleveland an NBA Championship,” Gilbert said.

Lue was an overall 23rd draft pick by the Denver Nuggets in 1998 and a former University of Nebraska player who previously won NBA championships in 2000 and 2001 while he was with the Lakers. He has played 554 games in the NBA over 11 seasons with the Lakers, Washington, Houston, Orlando, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Dallas, and has served as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers and an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics.

Despite being fired from his position, Blatt was grateful for the time he spent in Cleveland.

"I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as the Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers," Blatt said in a statement released by his agent, Priority Sports.

"I'd like to thank Dan Gilbert and David Griffin for giving me this opportunity and am honored to have worked with an amazing group of players from LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love through our entire roster," he said.

Blatt ended his statement with a goodbye and good luck to his former Cleveland team by telling them "I'd also like to express my extreme gratitude to my coaching staff. I am indebted to them for their professionalism, hard work, loyalty and friendship. I am proud of what we have accomplished since I have been Head Coach and wish the Cavaliers nothing but the best this season and beyond."

Blatt's firing came one day after the coach was defensive following the team's win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Blatt was bothered by criticism his team led by LeBron James received after a 34-point loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors earlier this week.

Blatt's second season was going better than his first year, when he struggled to adapt to the NBA game after being a successful coach in Europe. But despite injuries and a team learning to mesh with stars James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, the Cavs still made it to the finals before losing to the Warriors in six games.

Following Thursday night's win over the Clippers, Blatt shared a moment with James at his locker. The pair shook hands and smiled at each other, without any hint that a coaching change could be forthcoming.

Moments earlier, Blatt was defensive about comments made about his team in the wake of the blowout loss to Golden State. He argued that his team deserved more credit than it was getting and said he was doing so because "it's about my guys."