INDEPENDENCE — I want the speculation about David Blatt’s future to be over.
I want Blatt’s declaration Thursday that he “absolutely” intends to stay and coach the Cavaliers next season and general manger David Griffin’s continued support of Blatt to be the end of it.
But I suspect that’s not the case.
Not with LeBron James in his postseason bunker, decompressing after another physically and emotionally painful loss in the NBA Finals.
Not with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s willingness to fire coaches yearly, no matter the cost.
Not with questions about whether James and his teammates respect Blatt or have tuned him out, an issue addressed all season by the local media, continuing to be raised nationally.
In a news conference Thursday at Cleveland Clinic Courts, it sounded like the front office is solidly behind Blatt. Griffin pointed out that the Cavs went 33-3 in their last 36 games when the Big Three of James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were healthy, then had to remake the “offensive juggernaut” when Love and Irving were lost to injuries in the playoffs.
Considering how undermanned the Cavs were, just making the Finals, much less going ahead 2-1 against the Golden State Warriors before falling in six games, should solidify Blatt’s status. Blatt also quickly assimilated Timofey Mozgov, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith into the rotation when they arrived in two January trades and saved the season after the Cavs opened 19-20.
But Gilbert, who usually attends the Cavs’ season wrap-up, was conspicuously absent. Until we hear from him or James, the whispers about Blatt might not be put to rest.
Griffin tried to do that Thursday. Griffin spent four years in the media relations department with the Phoenix Suns and understands the business. He addressed a story from ESPN’sMarc Stein, who served as a radio sideline reporter during the Finals, about James calling timeouts, making substitutions and barking at Blatt about decisions he didn’t like.
“I think sensational sells now, and certainly with a team like ours the more sensational the better,” Griffin said. “I think it was June 1, LeBron himself said he thinks coach has done a hell of a job.
“I appreciate the fact that there is this cool narrative hanging out there, and you can say this forever. It literally never has to go away, sorry, coach, no matter how much we win, it never has to go away because it’s all conjecture. One thing David did as well as anybody I’ve ever seen, and I wish I did better, was just ignore the noise from the media perspective. Because frankly, none of that means anything. We know what actually takes place here.”
But Blatt admitted during the 35-minute session that he “went through a pretty radical learning curve.” A 20-year veteran international coach, Blatt knew little about the NBA, so he hired a veteran staff to help.
Griffin said he expects James to opt-out of his contract and re-sign. But before he recommits, there surely will be a conversation between ownership and James in July about the Cavs’ future. At that time, there will be pressing questions James and Gilbert must discuss.
With the clock ticking on the prime of James’ career, can the Cavs afford to wait for Blatt to learn the league? While Blatt figures it out, can the Cavs win a title with James as the de-facto coach during games? Can Blatt accept that?
“He is a galvanizing player,” Blatt said of James. “He is our best player. He’s the league’s best player. He’s a winner. He’s a proven champion. I think it’s important that he feels empowered and at the same time that he knows that he’s very much a part of this team. And I think he’s exhibited that, and always put the team’s success beyond his.”
It would be totally out of character for James to say Blatt must go, especially when Blatt is so willing to listen to his suggestions. James’ goal of leading the Cavs to a championship surely led to some of the questionable interaction between James and Blatt that Stein saw during the Finals. It continued the plot line from the “Give me the ball” moment James revealed after his game-winning shot at the buzzer in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Chicago Bulls that evened the series 2-2. To his credit, Blatt understands James’ superior basketball mind and when James overruled him, he acquiesced.
But assuming he’s in charge when training camp opens, Blatt must win his players over. It took more than a season for Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to do that after James arrived in the summer of 2010. For Blatt to become closer with James, Blatt needs to open up personally. Perhaps he already has. But with the media, Blatt was guarded when questions about his family arose and extremely defensive of his rookie status in the NBA.
If anyone but Gilbert were writing the checks, Blatt’s return wouldn’t even be an issue. Gilbert’s impetuous track record with coaches includes Byron Scott, fired on April 18, 2013 and Mike Brown, fired for the second time on May 12, 2014.
Those two events might save Blatt. But then again, maybe not for long.
