by
LeBron James
Superstar LeBron James, not Dan Gilbert, majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is getting grief from Israelis ever since the team fired coach David Blatt on Friday. Reports point to James wanting to oust Blatt, who was hired by Gilbert in 2014.
Blatt is married to an Israeli woman, lived in Israel, played for Princeton, served in the Israeli Defense Forces, played professional basketball in Israel and became a successful coach, guiding the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team to the Euroleague title in 2013/14. Needless to say, when Dan Gilbert hired him on June 20, 2014, Israelis had great affection for Blatt and the Cavs.
In a story titled "LeBron James becomes Israeli public's newest enemy after Blatt firing," The Jerusalem Post writes:
The surprise sacking of Blatt despite leading the Cavs to the NBA Finals last year and to the best record in the East so far this season, saw millions of Israelis turn from fans to haters.
News of the firing topped all Israeli newscasts on Saturday, with Middle East violence and the stormy weather taking a back seat to the fate of Israel's first NBA coach.
The story reports that one Israeli wrote of LeBron on the Internet:
"Such a great player. Such a small, lame, pathetic personality. So drunk from all the fame and completely blind to see how fortunate you were to play under Blatt's guidance."
An Associated Press story quotes Gil Eyal, a 38-year-old Israeli high-tech executive who typically supports the Boston Celtics:
"Finally I can go back to hating LeBron without feeling guilty. Hope he never sees a title in his life."
There have been reports that LeBron didn't care for Blatt's coaching and preferred Assistant Coach Ty Lue, who takes Blatt's place. But some reports suggest LeBron wasn't behind the firing, and General Manager David Griffen, who had announced the firing, said:
"LeBron doesn't run this organization. LeBron is about this organization. This narrative that somehow we're taking direction from him, it's just not fair."
Superstars on NBA teams like Michael Jordan have been known to push coaches out. The owners like Gilbert have final say, but often in the NBA, owners defer to the superstars.
In 2014, when Gilbert hired Blatt, he said:
"David Blatt is going to bring some of the most innovative approaches found in professional basketball anywhere on the globe. Time and time again, from Russia to Israel and several other prominent head coaching jobs in between, David has done one thing: 'win.' He is not only an innovator, well-trained and focused on both sides of the court, but he is always learning and always teaching."
After the firing, Gilbert, a big supporter of Israel, issued this statement:
Over the course of my business career I have learned that sometimes the hardest thing to do is 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.”
