David Blatt May Not Be Unemployed Long
By Phil Watson
The Cleveland Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt on Friday, but given his ties to Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, he may not be on the market very long.
David Blatt’s last victory as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers came at Barclays Center over the Brooklyn Nets.
There’s a possibility, according to reports, that his next NBA coaching win might be with the Nets.
Peter Botte of the New York Daily News reported that Blatt could be under consideration for the coaching job in Brooklyn, which has been vacant since Lionel Hollins was fired Jan. 10.
Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Brooklyn Nets
Interim coach Tony Brown has overseen the Nets since, going 1-6 in that span, and Brooklyn has stumbled through a 1-10 January—one fewer loss than Blatt experienced in 41 games in Cleveland this season.
Blatt has strong ties to Russian basketball. He was head coach of the national team in Russia from 2006-12, winning a gold medal at the 2007 FIBA EuroBasket competition and earning bronze medals at both the 2011 EuroBasket and the 2012 London Olympics.
He also coached in Russia on two separate occasions, in 2004-05 with Dynamo St. Petersburg and with Dynamo Moscow in 2008-09.
Before coming to the NBA in 2014, Blatt had been a head coach internationally for 17 seasons, including two stints with Hapoel Galil Elyon in Israel (1993-94, 1995-99); two tours with Israel’s flagship franchise, Maccabi Tel Aviv (2001-03, 2010-14); two seasons with Benetton Treviso in Italy; a season with Turkey’s Efes Pilson; and a short stint with Aris Tessaloniki in Greece.
In all, he amassed a record of 490-217 across all levels of competition (domestic leagues, playoffs and continental competitions) and led Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague title in 2014 before joining the Cavaliers.
More from Brooklyn Nets
- Why the new-look Brooklyn Nets are guaranteed to surprise
- NBA Trades: This Mavs-Nets deal may lead to Dallas adding a third star
- 5 NBA players everyone should be keeping a close eye on in 2023-24
- 5 NBA players facing do-or-die 2023–2024 seasons
- Is Mikal Bridges the Brooklyn Nets next star?
Prokhorov had settled on Blatt to coach his Russian team, CSKA Moscow, in 2008 before Ettore Messina reversed his decision to retire and stayed on at CSKA, with Blatt ending up with Dynamo Moscow instead.
He was 83-40 with the Cavaliers during the regular season and led them to the NBA Finals last season despite losing power forward Kevin Love to a shoulder injury in Game 4 of their first-round sweep of the Boston Celtics and point guard Kyrie Irving to a fractured kneecap in the opening game against the Golden State Warriors, still managing to guide Cleveland to a 2-1 series lead before the Warriors stormed back with three straight victories to win the title.
A native of the Boston area, Blatt played at Princeton from 1977-81 before embarking on a 12-year professional career in Israel.
From all accounts, it was a difficult situation for Blatt in Cleveland. He was hired in June 2014 to take over a young team that would be led by Irving and would focus on tutoring first-round pick Andrew Wiggins.
That was before LeBron James opted to return to the Cavaliers as a free agent in July, setting in motion a series of events that included dealing Wiggins to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Love and the hiring of Tyronn Lue as associate head coach.
It was Lue who was named Cavaliers coach in the wake of Blatt’s firing.
Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that James was at the forefront of a mutiny that led to the demise of Blatt and the elevation of Lue in Cleveland.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
It was a move that shocked many and disgusted veteran coach Rick Carlisle of the Dallas Mavericks, himself the victim of a shocking firing with the Detroit Pistons in 2003 after he led them to 100 wins and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in two seasons.
“I’m embarrassed for our league something like this can happen,” Carlisle said. “I know integrity. I know knowledge. David Blatt is going to be a sought-after coach. The other side of this is a good man has been liberated.”
Coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz, who beat the Nets Friday night at Barclays Center, had a softer spin.
“I think it kind of speaks to the volatility of the profession,” Snyder said. “When you get into it, you get in with eyes open.
“I have a lot of respect for David. I’ve known him a long time since he was coaching overseas with Maccabi and the Russian national team. … I think continuity in a lot of professions may be undervalued.”
Former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has also been mentioned as a leading contender in Brooklyn.
If Blatt—the first coach in NBA history to be fired with his team holding a conference’s best record—were to join the Nets before the end of the season, he would join Larry Brown (who else?) as the only coaches to lead two NBA teams in one season. Brown coached both the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers in 1991-92.
Blatt won a lot of games and was rewarded with a pink slip because, ultimately, his star player liked an assistant coach more. But make no mistake, Blatt can coach.
More hoops habit: Every NBA Team's Star Wars Counterpart
The Nets could do much worse than bringing in a veteran who has been in many corners of the world. A quick look at their litany of failed coaches shows they have done worse … often.