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| (Aaron Josefczyk/AP) |
The
Marc Stein piece about James emasculating Blatt in huddles and, really, at
any time when the adversity or LeBron’s unhappiness is cranked up, comes as no
surprise to people who know James or who watch the Cavaliers more closely than
just during The Finals.
It’s part of the reason he came back here.
‘The Letter’ and the ‘Coming Home’ stuff is a part of it. It’s
just the part of it that a slick team of PR people knew a desperate fan base,
and a world full of people looking for an inspiring story of homesickness and
redemption, would swallow and share on their Facebook walls.
But for James it was always more than that.
James is nothing if not astute when it comes to the business
of basketball and business in general. In Cleveland James knew that a messy
divorce from his hometown (or region, anyway) cut two ways. He knew he
mishandled it and he also knew that Cavs owner Gilbert may have messed it up
more than James did.
James was well aware that burying the hatchet with Gilbert
and returning to Cleveland would set him up with his redemption story and also
likely give him carte blanche in terms of the control he could exert over the
franchise.
He knew Gilbert would have to sit and quietly chafe at that
fact while being consoled that his franchise had just appreciated about 400%
with the stroke of James’ pen. James was also smart enough to realize that
there were limits to how he could maneuver back in Cleveland. He effectively
shut his mother down in Miami, so her running around The Q like Cleopatra wasn’t
going to be an issue. And his boys and business partners would have to quiet
down their act as well.
These things were only part of what James learned in Miami,
though. He also learned after an embarrassing loss to the Dallas Mavericks that
there might be something to him operating more out of the post. He learned that
he could be far more effective being efficient than he had ever thought
possible during his first ball-centric stint in Cleveland. He learned how to
space the floor with shooters and open the floor for slashers and that opening
the floor created space for limited but athletic big guys to crash the boards
for easy points and extra possessions.
In short, James learned about playing effective basketball
in a new NBA while winning a couple of titles and always keeping one eye on
Cleveland where he could apply those learnings with a city and franchise
desperate for him to return.
So he did return, and when he did David Blatt had already
been hired. James said and did all the right things early in training camp as
it pertained to Blatt. James had also already manipulated the transaction that
brought Kevin Love to Cleveland and, along with Blatt, he also inherited Kyrie
Irving.
Blatt, a proponent of the Princeton offense, probably lit up
at the thought of utilizing his system with those three players as the focal
point. But it quickly became clear early in the season that James wasn’t
implementing much, if any, of Blatt’s motion offense when he was on the floor.
The Cavs would run some of that motion when James came off
the floor to rest, but when he was on the court all eyes, and the ball, were
generally with him. Blatt was effectively neutered long before Stein saw the
level of disrespect while standing on the sidelines during The Finals. It was
an issue from Game 1.
Blatt never signed on for the circus he ended up directing.
He was hired to coach a bunch of young guys and to use his offense to maximize
whatever that limited and young roster could give. Instead, with James coming
home, Love in place of the drafted Andrew Wiggins and a flurry of mid-season
trades, Blatt was now in the spotlight with a team that almost every expert
picked to get The Finals.
Blatt’s a smart man. He can be defensive with the media and
he can speak beyond those without a Princeton education, but he knows his X’s
and O’s and he’s a bright basketball mind. And many feel bad that he’s been
thrown under the bus a time or ten by the best player in the world.
I’m not one of those people.
It’s not that I don’t like Blatt. He’s fine.
But in terms of coaching, I’m more than fine with LeBron
running the show. Blatt (or someone standing where he does during games and
practices) is necessary because he acts as the lightning rod for a
passive-aggressive James. James can roll his eyes and remark about things he
doesn’t agree with like lineups and inbounds plays and Blatt takes the heat and
keeps the pressure off LeBron. That might not be what he signed up for but it
pays extremely well and it’s one of only 32 head coaching jobs in the best
basketball league on earth.
So Blatt is superfluous for the most part when the clock is
running. To an extent, every coach in the NBA is. Blatt himself has called
James a coach on the floor. In this case it happens to be far more literal than
when most coaches say it.
But I wouldn’t change it. And by that I mean any coach the
Cavs would hire would be playing assistant to LeBron. Whether it’s Blatt or
Tyron Lue or Mark Jackson or anyone else, this team is better off with James
running the show because he’s perhaps the one player on earth who can actually
pull it off.
There’s not a coach anywhere that can recognize a defense
being thrown at James any better than James can. And there’s not a coach
anywhere that can more quickly adjust to that defense or scheme to beat it than
James can.
James butted heads with Erik Spoelstra in Miami for the
first year he was there as well. He believes, and those beliefs may be
validated after his Miami years, that he knows the game and how to play winning
basketball as well as any coach walking a sideline. The fact is, short of
someone like Gregg Popovich, there simply isn’t a coach out there that LeBron
would show deferential respect for.
At the end of the day, I’m more concerned about the Cavs
optimizing the next five years or so that James will still be an impactful
player and less concerned with the deal that David Blatt got, fair or not. I
understand that being blatantly disrespectful has no place. It’s simply a lack
of class and upbringing and it flies in the face of the “humility” that James
peppers his interviews with.
But playing in The Finals is kind of a kick. It’s fun. It’ll
be even more fun when the Cavaliers MASH unit isn’t the focus of conversation.
And regardless of who coaches this team, James holds all the cards. From his
basketball intellect to his performance on the floor and especially to his
contract situation, James controls this team’s and this town’s fortunes.
Literally.
If Blatt can accept that and still wants to be a part of it,
gaining valuable NBA experience and increasing his net worth, I’m fine with
that. If Blatt decides he’s got too much pride to continue on being the
whipping boy, then it wouldn’t surprise nor disappoint me if he takes his pride
and his years of overseas coaching experience elsewhere.
But there will be “Blatts” lined up around the block to
coach this team. And there’s a chance they may only be successful to the extent
they too can swallow their pride and defer to James.
There’s one coach on this team. And regardless of whether
Blatt stays or goes, or who replaces him, that coach won’t be wearing a suit and tie
during games.
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