NBA Rumors: Is David Blatt On The Hot Seat In Cleveland?

Only 30 games into his NBA coaching career, Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt could be in big trouble.

On the heels of the Cavs’ embarrassing 23-point loss to the Detroit Pistons Sunday that dropped Cleveland to 18-12, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein are reporting that Blatt is not getting through to his players.

Windhorst and Stein write:

"Sources told ESPN.com that there is rising concern in team circles about the level of response Blatt is getting on the floor, with Blatt himself acknowledging that the Cavaliers “lost our energy and we lost our competitiveness” in Sunday night’s embarrassing home loss to Detroit.(…)The Cavs’ effort level, especially defensively, is eroding noticeably, raising the volume on questions about just how much the locker room is listening to the 55-year-old Boston native, who has enjoyed tremendous success internationally but still began this season as a relative unknown to NBA players.(…)Whispers about the lack of attention that various Cavs players are paying to Blatt during some timeout huddles, as well as their apparent preference to communicate with Cavs assistant and former NBA player Tyronn Lue, have been in circulation for weeks."

Perhaps even more troubling for Blatt than ESPN’s report is what LeBron James said when asked about it on Monday.

While LeBron also added that he is “happy” with Blatt, it’s hard to read the above comment and think the coach truly has the support of James, especially when the 29-year-old recently admitted that he took over point guard duties without even discussing the matter with Blatt. Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com also reported Monday that James is “disinterested.”

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Not only does it appear that Blatt is losing the locker room, it seems he’s losing James more than anybody. That could prove to be fatal for Blatt as the Cavs’ coach.

Now, it’s important to note that LeBron has long maintained that the he understands it will take time for the Cavaliers to reach their potential, which works in Blatt’s favor.

Also, in LeBron’s first year with the Miami Heat, the team started out 9-8 and many questioned whether coach Erik Spoelstra was up for the job. The Heat stuck with Spoelstra, which proved to be the right choice as Miami ultimately turned things around and earned a trip to the 2011 NBA Finals.

But James’ issues with Blatt are more apparent than they were with Spoelstra. Furthermore, LeBron has much more of a say in personnel decisions with the Cavaliers’ brass than he did with Pat Riley.

LeBron is the most powerful man in the Cavaliers’ organization and if he wants Blatt to be fired, he’ll be fired.

Blatt’s future is in LeBron’s hands. Given James’ comments today, on top of ESPN’s scathing reports, there’s certainly reason for Blatt to worry that he could get let go in the midst of his first NBA season if the Cavs don’t turn things around soon.

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