Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle shocked Cavaliers fired David Blatt
Rick Carlisle was crestfallen Friday when he learned that the Cleveland Cavaliers had fired coach David Blatt.
“I’m embarrassed for our league that something like this could happen,” Carlisle, the Dallas Mavericks coach, said. “It’s just bizarre.”
It’s just a real shocker.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle on the firing of the Cavaliers’ David Blatt
Blatt came over from coaching in Europe and led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in his first season as a coach last year. The Cavs also had the third-best record in the NBA and were in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 30-11 record when Blatt was fired.
“It’s just a real shocker,” Carlisle said. “I’ve gotten to know David in the last year and a half since he came over.
“He’s one of the greatest coaches in European history. The ironic thing about all this is that he adjusted and adapted to the NBA game, in my opinion, much quicker than any of us ever could have adjusted and adapted to the European game.”
You see us talk here about chemistry always matters. I think chemistry includes coaching.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban
Blatt is considered one of the greatest coaches in Europe. But that didn’t help his cause in the NBA.
“You see us talk here about chemistry always matters,” owner Mark Cuban said. “I think chemistry includes coaching.
“You can have one knucklehead and ruin a team, you can have a coach that doesn’t fit and guys quit. It’s not a reflection on David Blatt, he’s had success everywhere he’s gone.”
Carlisle is the president of the NBA Coaches Association. He’s probably closer to the other head coaches than most.
“The bottom line with this is that I know a couple of things about coaching in this league,” Carlisle said. “I know integrity and I know knowledge.
“I can’t speak to the internal things that have gone on in Cleveland. I’ve read the Cavaliers — some of the comments that came from the Cavaliers — and teams have a right to make changes. But David Blatt is going to be a highly sought-after coach this summer if and when there are openings.”
Cuban takes blame
Cuban blamed himself for center Zaza Pachulia not being named a starter on the Western Conference All-Star team.
The top three frontcourt players in the fan voting were named Thursday as starters. Pachulia was only 14,228 votes away from passing San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard for the third and final frontcourt spot.
“I apologized to him,” Cuban said of Pachulia. “If I would have known I would have called in all of the influences I know and put him over the top. I didn’t push it at all. That’s my bad.”
Dwain Price: 817-390-7760, @dwainprice
This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 9:43 PM with the headline "Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle shocked Cavaliers fired David Blatt."