JaVale McGee Womens Jersey David Blatt's second NBA season seemed to be going better than his first. Now, it's over.Blatt was fired Friday by the title-chasing Cleveland Cavaliers and replaced by top assistant Tyronn Lue, according to general manager David Griffin.Blatt had guided Cleveland to the NBA Finals last year, and the Cavs had the Eastern Conference's best record (30-11) midway through this season, but in discussing the coaching change during a news conference late Friday afternoon, Griffin cited "a lack of fit with our personnel and our vision.""What I see is that we need to build a collective spirit, a strength of spirit, a collective will," Griffin said. "Elite teams always have that, and you see it everywhere. To be truly elite, we have to buy into a set of values and principles that we believe in. That becomes our identity."Mitch Richmond Kids Jersey While acknowledging his 24 years spent working in the NBA in varying capacities, Griffin said of the Cavaliers: "I have never seen a locker room not be as connected after wins as they need to be. We've only been galvanized when expectations were not high."Griffin confirmed that Lue, who was a top candidate for the job in 2014 when it went to Blatt, will not have an interim tag and will be the full-time coach. Yahoo! Sports reported that Lue agreed to a three-year deal, although Griffin said the reported length was not accurate."I am more than confident that he has the pulse of our team and that he can generate the buy-in required to start to refine the habits and culture that we've yet to build," Griffin said.Griffin did meet with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, who supported the move to fire his third coach in four seasons."Over the course of my business career I have learned that sometimes the hardest thing to do is also the right thing to do," Gilbert said.Kevin Garnett Kids Jersey Blatt thanked the Cavaliers in a statement released by his agency earlier Friday."I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as the Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers," Blatt said in the statement. "I'd like to thank (owner) Dan Gilbert and David Griffin for giving me this opportunity and am honored to have worked with an amazing group of players from LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love through our entire roster. I'd also like to express my extreme gratitude to my coaching staff. I am indebted to them for their professionalism, hard work, loyalty and friendship. I am proud of what we have accomplished since I have been the Head Coach and wish the Cavaliers nothing but the best this season and beyond."NBA coaching sources told ESPN's Marc Stein that Blatt is intent on coaching in the league again as opposed to immediately returning to the European game, where he was one of the most successful coaches in its history.James, meanwhile, was informed of the team's decision to fire Blatt on Friday, sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst. Although James' fondness for Lue and his desire to be coached by a former player were well-known throughout Cleveland's organization, James was not directly consulted Friday on the Cavs' decision to fire Blatt, sources said.Griffin confirmed that the decision was his alone.http://www.authenticcelticsstore.com/authentic-35-reggie-lewis-jersey.html "I didn't talk to any of the players before this decision," Griffin said. "It's really critical to me for everybody to understand this is my decision. This is our basketball staff's decision. ... I'm not taking a poll."A team source told ESPN's Dave McMenamin that Blatt's firing means "everyone is in the crosshairs right now."
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