David Blatt couldn't stop winning as Cavaliers coach. That apparently wasn't good enough for him to keep his job. Cleveland fired Blatt and hired assistant coach Tyronn Lue to take his spot Friday afternoon. So now, where does the coach who went 83-40 during his short tenure in Cleveland go only seven months removed from taking a team to the Finals?
We've got some recommendations.
Atlanta Hawks, 26-19 (4th in East)
Current Coach: Mike Budenholzer
Coach Bud is fresh off a Coach of the Year award, and Atlanta is finding success once again only a season after making a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Let's go ahead and scratch this one off the list right now.
Verdict: Nope, Atlanta's good.
Boston Celtics, 24-21 (5th in East)
Current Coach: Brad Stevens
If you're not from Boston, there's a chance you wouldn't recognize Brad Stevens if he passed by you on the street. Actually, there's a decent chance you'd guess the baby-faced coach is Brad Stevens' intern before ever assuming he's the head coach of the Boston Celtics. If you're from Boston though, you fully acknowledge he's the best coach in the history of the NBA (non-Red Auerbach category). Don't believe it? Walk into any Massachusetts bathroom. The writing is quite literally on the walls.
Verdict: No chance.
Brooklyn Nets, 12-33 (14th in East)
Current Coach: A Guy Named Tony Brown
As hard as Tony Brown has worked to earn the interim position he finds himself in (Brown has been an assistant for almost two decades), he's been set up to fail inside an organization without a future or even a present. Actually, Blatt could work nicely here. There isn't much expectation to win from the fan base (or what's left of the fan base), and if the Nets could pair him with a GM who held the team's performance to realistic standards—no guarantee given the heightened ones brought on by ownership—Blatt could scheme his way into a few more victories than Brooklyn supporters ever anticipated. Plus, you'd have to imagine the former coach of the Russian National Team would have an in with the Nets' Russian ownership group.
Verdict: Go for it, Nets.
Charlotte Hornets, 21-23 (11th in East)
Current Coach: Steve Clifford
Steve Clifford just signed an extension before this season, and Charlotte has outplayed expectations to this point, even given its recent slide. The Hornets have made a whole bunch of "What are you doing??" moves in the past, but they're not nearly as flashy in their confusion as organizations like the Kings or former Knicks. Clifford, an underrated defensive mind, is almost certainly here to stay for the near future.
Verdict: Almost no way.
Chicago Bulls, 25-18 (3rd in East)
Current Coach: Fred Hoiberg
This could work. Seriously, this could work. The Bulls have stars. They are supposed to be more than just competitive in the Eastern Conference. They should be able to dominate at least three-fifths of the Central Division. They have money to spend. When has a situation like that ever not worked for David Blatt? Actually...don't answer that.
Verdict: Uhh...Probably wouldn't work.
Cleveland Cavaliers, 30-12 (1st in East)
Current Coach: Tyronn Lue
Next one...
Verdict: LOLZ
Dallas Mavericks, 25-21 (6th in West)
Current Coach: Rick Carlisle
People realize Rick Carlisle is going to be in the Hall of Fame, right? That is absolutely, positively happening. If it doesn't, I'm doing to the Hall of Fame what the Cavaliers did to Blatt. The only difference is the Hall will deserve it much more than the former Cavs coach ever did.
Verdict: R.C. is amazing and not going anywhere.
Rick Carlisle on the Cavs firing David Blatt: "I'm embarrassed for our league that something like this could happen" https://t.co/1xglizjf9P
— FOX Sports: Hoops (@HoopsonFOX) January 23, 2016
Denver Nuggets, 17-27 (11th in West)
Current Coach: Mike Malone
The Kings let Mike Malone go shortly into last season for what remains as ambiguous reasons. The team was over-performing, but ownership still went with a change. After a short stint with Tyrone Corbin as interim coach, the team brought in a big name, George Karl, to run the bench. Could you imagine if the exact same cycle happened in Denver, only this time, instead of Karl, it were Blatt casting a shadow on Malone?
Verdict: Only if the Nuggets have a twisted sense of humor.
Detroit Pistons, 23-21 (7th in East)
Current Coach: Stan Van Gundy
Over the last two years, Stan Van has taken over as Pistons coach and team president, he's improved the roster, upped the production, and pulled the record over .500. All the while, the city of Detroit's Diet Pepsi sales have shot through the roof. He's bolstering a competitive basketball team on the way up, and single-handedly jolting the local soda economy. It's safe to say, Stan is sticking around.
Verdict: You're not taking this from Stan.
Golden State Warriors, 40-4 (1st in West)
Current Coach: Steve Kerr
Luke Walton coached the first half of the season. Kerr, after returning from back surgery rehab, has taken over since. Golden State won't stop winning no matter who's on the bench, but that doesn't mean Blatt can't head to Oakland. No, Kerr isn't going anywhere, but Walton seems bound for a head-coaching job this offseason. If and when he does, keep an eye and ear out for Blatt's name, which was circulating around the Bay Area two years ago when Kerr was looking for a lead assistant coach. Blatt ended up getting the gig with the Cavs, but maybe it could work out better for Golden State the second time around.
Verdict: Totally realistic.
Houston Rockets, 24-22 (7th in West)
Current Coach: J.B. Bickerstaff
This could work. And no, there's no sarcasm in that phrasing this time. Houston fired longtime coach Kevin McHale early this season and hasn't committed to Bickerstaff for the future. Blatt, meanwhile, truly was an intelligent on-court coach with the Cavaliers. If the locker room issues were his biggest flaw, then is there any organization more willing to overlook that than the stat-savvy Rockets, who prioritize numbers and X's and O's-execution possibly more than any other organization? Blatt constructed a relatively brilliant plan against the Warriors in the Finals last season. Before, he helped rebuild a defense on the fly near the end of the year. Houston could use some tinkering. Why shouldn't it be the former Cavaliers bench mind be making the tweaks?
Verdict: Also, totally realistic.
Indiana Pacers, 23-21 (6th in East)
Current Coach: Frank Vogel
Indiana played with one of the bigger, more physical teams in the league during recent years. This season, the Pacers changed their roster makeup, playing smaller, faster and better reflecting what your average NBA team looks like in 2016. Somehow, Vogel has helped grease that change seamlessly. Indiana is back in the playoff picture this season and is in the top 10 in defense after losing David West, Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson over the past two years. Because of that and more, there's not going to be any coaching change going down in Indianapolis.
Verdict: Indiana is just fine without him.
Los Angeles Clippers, 28-16 (4th in West)
Current Coach: Doc Rivers
The Clippers could make a change on the bench, but rumor is that the team's coach is oddly close with the guy responsible for running the front office. They're so attached at the hip that even when they're alone, they're together. So, the answer is, no. To make room for David Blatt, Doc Rivers will not be firing Doc Rivers.
Verdict: Doc Rivers can answer this.
Los Angeles Lakers, 9-37 (15th in West)
Current Coach: Byron Scott
How in the world is anyone supposed to know what the Lakers are going to do? Sure, Los Angeles and the Lakers lure could pull a star or two into the Staples Center, but is L.A. as appealing as it was back in the day? That's not a knock on the city. It's just an indictment of the times. In an age when [fill in the blank] can get famous merely by posting racey photos on Instagram and looking great even with #NoFilter, players don't need the big market nearly as much to gain notoriety around the country and world. And if we don't know if the Lakers will be moving forward with stars or not, it's hard to figure out who will end up being the next coach. Unless, of course, they just pry Luke Walton away from Golden State the second the season ends...
Verdict: Probably not.
Memphis Grizzlies, 25-20 (5th in West)
Current Coach: Dave Joerger
The Grizzlies are winning this season, but each victory seems a little awkward. The wins are coming by one or two points. The losses have been blowouts, and Memphis seems definitively worse than it's been at any point over the past five years. Maybe a change actually is necessary. And maybe Blatt could be a solid rebuilding point for a rickety team that could use some new oil.
Verdict: It's possible.
Miami Heat, 23-21 (8th in East)
Current Coach: Erik Spoelstra
The Heat have fallen like Jeb Bush's presidential hopes of late, but even if this Miami squad shares some similar DNA to champions of the recent past, it's not the same. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade haven't fit wonderfully with the new pieces, and Erik Spoelstra's offense has been uncomfortable at best. But Pat Riley is particularly patient with Spo historically. He let him wait it out after a slow start during the first LeBron season in Miami. He let him fight through a 37-win season last year. There's no reason to believe a change is on the horizon now, even if it would be particularly fun to see Blatt in charge of LeBron's old squad.
Verdict: Spo is too good.
Milwaukee Bucks, 19-27 (13th in East)
Current Coach: Jason Kidd
Blatt knows how to coach a defense. The Bucks, meanwhile, have had the most volatile D in the league over the past three years, going from the bottom of the NBA to second last year and back near the cellar again this season. Still, Jason Kidd is in charge of more than just the bench inside that organization and has been close with the current ownership group since long before it even purchased the franchise. It'd be a real shocker to see any sort of change in Milwaukee.
Verdict: Not happening.
Minnesota Timberwolves, 14-31 (14th in West)
Current Coach: Sam Mitchell
Make this happen. Let Blatt go to Minnesota and construct a winning team with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. Let that team be the next Oklahoma City. Let it go to the Finals to play the Cavaliers. Let LeBron and Wiggins guard each other and Towns and Kevin Love do the same after Cleveland jettisoned Wiggins in the Love trade during the summer of 2014. And please, oh please let Taylor Swift write a song about the whole experience from Blatt's perspective.
Verdict: If you can dream it, you can do it.
New Orleans Pelicans, 16-27 (12th in West)
Current Coach: Alvin Gentry
The Pelicans got rid of Monty Williams, super nice guy, after a 45-win season that resulted in a first-round playoff sweep. They brought in Alvin Gentry, super nice guy, and now the team is 16-27. Maybe New Orleans needs someone sterner. Maybe that someone is David Blatt. Or maybe all the injuries that plagued a roster which never fit together well to begin with has hurt the Pels beyond repair.
Verdict: Not the best chance.
New York Knicks, 22-24 (10th in East)
Current Coach: Derek Fisher
Fisher may be in season two of a five-year deal with the Knicks, but owner James Dolan has never been one to hold back the dollars if he thinks he can improve the team by making a move. The trait Blatt has going for him more than anything else if he wanted to come to New York would be his international experience, which he's hardly shy in bringing up during casual conversation. Hiring someone with a background as an international coach to lead a team headlined by Kristaps Porzingis might not be the worst move in human history. But considering Blatt's experience comes in coaching the Russian National Team and Maccabi Tel Aviv while Porzingis is from Latvia and played in the Spanish League, this might be my incredibly American, all-foreigners-are-basically-from-the-same-place side talking.
Verdict: Probably not.
Oklahoma City Thunder, 33-13 (3rd in West)
Current Coach: Billy Donovan
What happens if the Thunder need to rebuild after this year? Really, that's possible, isn't it? What if Kevin Durant leaves in free agency, Russell Westbrook tells the front office he doesn't want to have to do everything himself during a contract year, and the team is forced to trade him? Where does Billy Donovan, who has struggled as a rookie coach, go from there? (He probably stays considering OKC ownership hasn't built up the reputation of a group which would want to pay a coach not to coach its team.) But still, there are conceivable ways the Thunder look for another coach in the next year or two. Why not Blatt?
Verdict: Situationally plausible.
Orlando Magic, 20-22 (12th in East)
Current Coach: Scott Skiles
Blatt doesn't make sense as the Magic coach right now. Skiles is doing a fine job during Year One with the team, improving the Magic on both sides of the ball as young talent gets more and more comfortable together. Orlando has a nice future, but the past indicates that if it does keep this core, it won't be winning down the line with Skiles, whose intensity tends to grate on players after a few years of shrieking. So, what if Blatt, who is a similarly intense personality, could come in and be that sort of next-level coach the Magic might be looking for when they think they could win the East as they come of a 45-ish win season at some point in the next two or three years? It wouldn't make sense right now, but come 2018 or so, Blatt in Disneyland could be far more fitting.
Verdict: Conceivable down the line.
Phildelphia 76ers, 6-29 (15th in East)
Current Coach: Brett Brown
The Sixers are in a mode of transition right now. But the team is having its serving shaken, not stirred. Not only is Brett Brown sticking around, but he's doing it for even longer than anticipated. The coach just signed an extension with the team shortly after Jerry Colangelo took over the front office earlier this season. Mike D'Antoni is there to help him now. No one would say they need a third big name on the bench, though considering the lack of talent that's in Philly, the Sixers could use all the help they could get in other places.
Verdict: If Philly wants more assistant coaching, it's viable.
Phoenix Suns, 14-31 (13th in West)
Current Coach: Jeff Hornacek
Phoenix has officially hit prime tank mode. The Suns' rays are so weak that there isn't even anymore natural light in Jeff Hornacek's office, a room he might be clearing out by the end of the season. That could make way for Blatt, who has practice working with ball-dominant perimeter players, like the ones Phoenix has in Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. Tyson Chandler could be his new Tristan Thompson. And considering the Suns will have a high pick and could luck out in getting something on the trade market for either the disgruntled P.J. Tucker or the disgruntled-times-infinity Markieff Morris, Phoenix might be an attractive basketball situation for Blatt to go.
Verdict: It could happen.
Portland Trail Blazers, 20-26 (10th in West)
Current Coach: Terry Stotts
After the Blazers lost four of their five starters from last year, they have to be pretty pleased with a 20-26 record that has them sniffing the postseason at the moment. Actually, the only way GM Neil Olshey could possibly be upset is if he wanted to tank and get a high pick this season. Terry Stotts has helped Portland into a far better spot than many expected. Blatt won't find himself taking over here any time soon.
Verdict: Stotts is safe.
Sacramento Kings, 20-23 (8th in West)
Current Coach: George Karl
So, this is the inevitable landing spot, right? That has nothing to do with strategy or logic or predictions. It's just what's going to happen purely because it's the hire that would make everyone's minds' explode quickest. And that's what the Kings do. They make changes on the bench or in the front office, and naturally, they explode minds. You wouldn't even be able to read any coverage about it, because who can find the intellect to write with an exploded mind? The Kings wouldn't even be able to play against anyone anymore. Basketball would be done as we know it.
Verdict: Anything is possible.
San Antonio Spurs, 38-6 (2nd in West)
Current Coach: Gregg Popovich
This one's possible in a similar way to the Warriors' situation. Blatt doesn't have the close relationship to San Antonio that he does to Golden State, but Pop's lead assistant Ettore Messina is the legendary former coach of the perennially successful Russian team, CSKA Moscow. Blatt was the coach of the Russian National Team for years. There are reasonable connections here. And if the Spurs want to bring in another coach with X's and O's savvy and let Blatt provide the positives he can bring a team, why couldn't they go in this direction?
Verdict: Perfectly imaginable.
Gregg Popovich with some very kindhearted things to say about David Blatt a few moments ago: pic.twitter.com/pQnRQzsA6b
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 23, 2016
Toronto Raptors, 29-15 (2nd in East)
Current Coach: Dwane Casey
The Raptors are on a pace to have the best winning percentage in the history of their franchise, but let's rewind for a second. They started off 24-7 last season. At this point a year ago, they actually had the exact same record. They ended up winning 49 games and getting swept in the first round of the playoffs, failing to get out of round 1 for a second consecutive season. If Dwane Casey's team falters again, if it can't make it into the conference semis after another try at it, a change on the bench is conceivable. Blatt will be one of the bigger names available. And considering coaching in the U.S. didn't work out, maybe a more "international" Canadian experience would be more agreeable for him.
Verdict: Possible by unlikely.
Utah Jazz, 19-24 (9th in West)
Current Coach: Quin Snyder
Quin Snyder would never get fired. It has nothing to do with his coaching abilities, even if the Jazz coach is one of the brighter minds the league has to offer. You'd just have to be crazy to oust a person who was so clearly Patrick Bateman in a previous life. Why set off that alarm if you don't have to do it?
Verdict: As unlikely as a Quin Snyder bad hair day.
Washington Wizards, 20-21 (9th in East)
Current Coach: Randy Wittman
There are a few inevitabilities every spring. We see the cherry blossoms. The weather starts to get warmer. Really annoying 19-year-olds scream some James Franco-peddled phrase as they destroy the beaches of beautiful Caribbean towns one by one. And Playoff Wittman comes to play, the form of the Wizards coach which makes cunning decisions as he carries his team through the postseason. Unfortunately, Playoff Wittman goes back into hibernation each regular season, and because of that, the Wizards could find themselves in search for a new coach at the end of this disappointing year.
For some reason, we don't give coaches the same leeway as we do players when it comes to improvement. If a first-year player is performing like a rookie, we rightfully justify it by pointing out that he wasn't even in the NBA a year ago. He's only 20 years old! He's going to improve. Oddly, we don't extend that gratuity to coaches, even though we've seen plenty improve over the years. (Jason Kidd and Brad Stevens are differing but accurate recent examples of that.)
If Blatt's biggest flaw as a coach was the way he handled his stars, the way he comported himself in the locker room, maybe that could change. He's smart enough to know how to adjust. Only those close to him know if he has the personality traits to pull it off. But if he can, why couldn't he work in Washington? Or Houston? Or Brooklyn? He's a good enough coach on the court to find success, and you can pretty easily argue he already has. Now he just needs to find someone to put him in a position to do it again.
Fred Katz covers the NBA for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @FredKatz.
