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Cavs GM insists Blatt to remain coach
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin insisted Sunday that first-year head coach David Blatt’s future is safe and his job security was never in question.
“This narrative of our coaching situation is truly ridiculous,” Griffin told reporters before the Dallas Mavericks’ 109-90 victory over the Cavaliers. “It’s a non-story, it’s a non-narrative. Coach Blatt is our coach, he’s going to remain our coach. Do not write that as a vote of confidence. He never needed one. It was never a question. So don’t write it that way.”
Sources told ESPN.com last week that there was a growing level of worry within the Cavs organization about Blatt and his ability to reach the team.
Blatt even acknowledged that the Cavaliers “lost our energy and we lost our competitiveness” in last Sunday night’s embarrassing 103-80 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
But Griffin rejected the notion that Blatt’s job was ever in in jeopardy.
“No change is being made, period,” Griffin said.
“It’s such a ridiculous assertion. It seemed giving life to it is what would happen by talking about it so I didn’t want to do that. At the same time it’s just time for everybody to get on with it. We have a chance to galvanize ourselves and grow and move in a positive direction so I want to make sure we’re doing that in a fresh environment.”
The Cavs (19-15) have struggled with consistency so far this season, partly because of injuries. Star forward LeBron James is sidelined for at least two weeks with strains to his lower back and left knee, forward Kevin Love and guard Kyrie Irving have battled injuries, and center Anderson Varejao had a season-ending Achilles injury.
“We’re like traveling with the Beatles,” Griffin said. “I’m not surprised, but I’ve been disappointed the slant has been an attempt to be so negative all the time. This is exactly what we said it’s going to be: It’s a work in progress and we’re going to continue to get better every day.”
