David Blatt Safari (Officially named Head Coach)

[Cayman13]

What has Kyrie achieved to allow him to NOT respect his coach? If he is a locker room issue with Blatt, then trade his ass. There's notice worse than a 21 year old prima donna who's a locker room problem (who can't get his team to the playoffs).

I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and presume he'll be a great team player.

Exactly. This is now the 3rd Coach that Kryie's had in the NBA - it ain't all the coaches buddy....look in the mirror. Very interested to see how this this kid responds to Blatt.

 

[bigfoot5415]

I'm sure Kyrie will respect a career journeyman who was barely used on a championship team, played on 7 teams in 11 years over a guy who is regarded globally as a top tier coach.

 

[JSS2306]

I can't tell you what a relief it is to hear him mention the San Antonio Spurs by name as the type of ball he will play. Just sweet music to my ears. Loving the direction this team is heading.

I think everyone will improve across the board under his watch.

 

[johnny]

More good work from @j_069
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>1 of the very few plays David Blatt ran with both '12-Russia and Maccabi Tel Aviv: <a href="http://t.co/GnncjN8vMz">http://t.co/GnncjN8vMz</a> Also in the playbook of the Spurs.</p>&mdash; J. (@j_069) <a href="https://twitter.com/j_069/statuses/480736821643866113">June 22, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[AllforOne]

David Pick (@IAmDPick on Twitter) put out a Tweet saying that he'd answer any questions Cavs fans might have about David Blatt. I shot him an e-mail about a half-hour ago asking him three questions, and he already replied. Here you go:

1. How would you describe his offensive philosophy? The sense I have gotten is that he adjusts his offense to fit his personnel -- but are there any common themes?

KYRIE and DION: Over the current decade Blatt's winning-teams have been built around the backcourt. His current PG took home Euroleague Final Four MVP and Israeli-League Finals MVP so that's a great sign for Kyrie.

Blatt's offensive strategy includes a lot of ball movement and PNR which both above mentioned guards are great at.

Re: Dion, Blatt recruited Ricky Hickman, a former UNCG SG two years ago out of the minor leagues in Hungary and Italy. He signed for $350k (think non-NBA salaries, that's a lot of money in Europe) and his market value is now north of $1M.

I think if Blatt gets both kids to buy into his system and game strategy it could be big for CLE.

Blatt's offense is a mixture of a lot of ball movement, back door cuts, multiple top-of-the-key screen and when plays get stuck - PNR on the wing.

But he wants a patterned system - there has to be ball movement to find the open man. Not Kyrie dribbling for 15-20 seconds.

Blatt is a believer in advanced stats. Not only is Blatt an offensive genius who is a fan of ball movement and the PNR game but he's smart on defense too and will cause the opposing coach to think. In Israel he'd transition from zone defense to man-to-man and it would constantly break down a team's play and confuse the offense.

I think Cavs might struggle early because the transition isn't just for Blatt to make into the NBA it's also vise-versa and for the players to adapt to his methods.

2. Can he lead a very young team, which the Cavs are? (Especially the backcourt of Irving and Waiters, who have all the talent in the world, but who have not played as well together as we might hope.)

He is definitely a coach that demands respect. Cavs roster is relatively young, average age is 22 (right?). To be honest during the current decade, out of the four teams Blatt has built and over 30 foreign players he's signed - only ONE - came straight outta college. Mikhail Torrance from Alabame, but he never played for Maccabi because he suffered from heart problems in the US and never made the team.

I think guys like the Cavs have still have that college discipline mentality where respect for coaches is a must and hard work will earn you PT. Blatt is the farthest thing from a sucker and he doesn't take BS from anyone. He's coached some of the greatest hit shots in European history who went on to become Euro-legends.

I think a younger and hungry group of guys that are eager to learn is great starting point for him and the Cavs.

IMHO, never was a fan of Mike Brown, don't blame players for not believing in his methods.

3. What's his biggest weakness as a coach?

That's a good Q.

Blatt has a default weakness. It has happened in the past, and more than once, where a player overloaded in talent, struggles to play under Blatt, AT FIRST.

He demands so much from them and has his own visions of how they can perform and at what level that when they don't live up to his expectations he crosses them out.

Eventually, they must learn to play within his system for the good of the team. In most cases, these very same players that struggled early on are normally the last ones standing during the season's final push.

 

[kevin02]

So I emailed David Pick after he posted on twitter to email him any questions about Blatt. Nothing all that exciting here but I figured I post his response.

Here was my question:

We've yet to get a press conference from Blatt so I haven't had the chance to hear him talk about our current team and what his plans are.

Has he said anything in regards to the players on our roster and who he is excited to work with (or anything of that nature).

And his answer:

Kevin,




Thanks for reaching out.




No, Blatt is yet to refer to any Cavalier by name. Even upon his arrival in Israel he was very shady about what he said beyond the usual of being excited, ready for the challenge and hungry to prove himself.




He said the Cavs specifically requested he doesn't do any media until after the PC on Wednesday.





All the best



David 'Dubi' Pick

 

[Simon]

I also sent an email to Pick, what I basically asked was what do we expect offensively and defensively from Blatt, and will Kyrie and the players buy into his system.

Simon,

Thanks for reaching out. Great Qs.

Here are my thoughts.

Over the current decade Blatt's winning-teams have been built around the backcourt. His current PG took home Euroleague Final Four MVP and Israeli-League Finals MVP so that's a great sign for Kyrie.

Blatt's offensive strategy includes a lot of ball movement and PNR which both above mentioned guards are great at.

Re: Dion, Blatt recruited Ricky Hickman, a former UNCG SG two years ago out of the minor leagues in Hungary and Italy. He signed for $350k (think non-NBA salaries, that's a lot of money in Europe) and his market value is now north of $1M.

I think if Blatt gets both kids to buy into his system and game strategy it could be big for CLE.

He is definitely a coach that demands respect. Cavs roster is relatively young, average age is 22 (right?). To be honest during the current decade, out of the four teams Blatt has built and over 30 foreign players he's signed - only ONE - came straight outta college. Mikhail Torrance from Alabame, but he never played for Maccabi because he suffered from heart problems in the US and never made the team.

I think guys like the Cavs have still have that college discipline mentality where respect for coaches is a must and hard work will earn you PT. Blatt is the farthest thing from a sucker and he doesn't take BS from anyone. He's coached some of the greatest hit shots in European history who went on to become Euro-legends.

I think a younger and hungry group of guys that are eager to learn is great starting point for him and the Cavs.

IMHO, never was a fan of Mike a Brown, don't blame players for not believing in his methods.

Blatt's offense is a mixture of a lot of ball movement, back door cuts, multiple top-of-the-key screen and when plays get stuck - PNR on the wing.

But he wants a patterned system - there has to be ball movement to find the open man. Not Kyrie dribbling for 15-20 seconds.

In Europe too we have defensive three-second violations in the paint so in that regard in think will adapt quickly. Maccabi's staff are big believers in advanced stats. Not only is Blatt an offensive heinous who is a fans of ball movement and the PNR game but his smart on defense too and will cause the opposing coach to think. In Israel he'd transition from zone defense to man to man defense and it would constantly break down a team's play and confuse the offense.

I think Cavs might struggle early because the transition isn't just for Blatt to make into the NBA it's also vise-versa and for the players to adapt to his methods.

His last season in Israel got off to a very lousy start (4-5) which was the worst in team history. Alas, it's not how you starts that counts, it's how you finish that matters. By the end of the year Maccabi were European champion, Israeli League champions and Israeli State Cup holders. Not too bad, huh?

 

[AllforOne]

I replied to David Pick, and suggested that maybe he could have a chat/Q&A/whatever with RCF, so that he could answer plenty of questions in one shot. He said he'd be interested. So any RCF moderators who are reading this, here's your bat signal ...

 

[wuck]

We will reach out to David Blatt and see if we can set something up. Likely won't happen until after the draft.

 

[Lionheart]

We will reach out to David Blatt and see if we can set something up. Likely won't happen until after the draft.

The coach, Wuck?

 

[MirORich]

We will reach out to David Blatt and see if we can set something up. Likely won't happen until after the draft.

That'd be quite a pull:chuckles:

But David Pick would be great too!

 

[Snarly]

That'd be quite a pull:chuckles:

But David Pick would be great too!

HOT RUMOR!!!

 

[Cavatt]

Thanks to everyone who sent an email to pick. Some of the best info we have seen.

 

[Sirius]

Blatt isn't giving interviews until Wednesday, but here are some excerpts from an invited talk at a real estate agents convention yesterday. As you can expect in this type of venue, nothing said was very basketball specific:


"First, since I'm looking for an apartment in Cleveland and you guys are in real estate, maybe some of you can help me" (obligatory joke )

"To be a good coach you have to know your stuff, you have to persevere, and you have to be completely yourself"

"The coach should always set an example. I try to work harder than anyone else. We used to work 4 coaches in a small room, 12 hours straight, we set an example"

"I had players who were soloists, but with time, team success lifted them up too"

"Teach yourself to over-achieve - excellence starts where your limitations begin"

"The process that ended in a Euroleague championship did not begin two weeks earlier. We went through some hardship. We suffered in the Israeli league. We lost our deterrence factor and I probably received more criticism than anyone else."

"I saw potential in this team and I was able to transmit this belief to the players over time. Nietze said what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and its true. In Milano, we had faith that we are going to win because we are a team and we know how to handle a crisis. Even when we were down I'd tell my players, with a laugh, hey, we have them right where we want them"

"This morning I got a call from David Griffin, I was sure it was going to be about the draft or preparing the team, but he said "give me your family's clothing measurements, I want to prepare a surprise for them". He made me feel what it's like to be a part of Cleveland."

"Unfortunately, I lost my father before this dream came true, but I'm sure he's watching and he's proud"

 

[macbdog]

Blatt is either going to be a rousing success... or fall flat on his face. I think his saving grace is that, despite the task masters that come from the college ranks, he can't use brute force like college coaches do since he has actual professionals.

Of course, is anyone taking the over/under on Dion punching him? And do we do a side bet on whether it is a Dion friend or Dion foe punch?