Coach Killer: Miami Heat Minority Owner Says LeBron James Wanted Erik Spoelstra Fired

IT IS WHAT IT IS

Rising Star
Registered
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...um=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national

hi-res-bc61c2475b703aaa840781e8fe2fb7a8_crop_north.jpg


Tuesday evening on an Israeli sports talk radio show hosted by Ofira Asayag on ONE.co.il's 102FM,Miami Heat minority owner Raanan Katz and I appeared as panelists to discuss the Cleveland Cavaliers' firing of head coach David Blatt last week. Blatt's former assistant coach, Alon Stein, was also on the show.

Katz used to be a shareholder of Maccabi Tel Aviv when Blatt coached there years ago, in addition to his role as a minority owner of the Heat. During the radio interview, Katz revealed a bomb of a story—that LeBron James "made it clear" he wanted Erik Spoelstra fired during his tenure with Miami.

Below are Katz's full comments from Tuesday's radio appearance:

On the relationship between Blatt and James:

"I spoke to David Blatt while he was here in Miami when the Heat played the Cleveland Cavaliers. He didn't see it coming, but I could tell the situation wasn't 100 percent working. I thought LeBron James had enough brains to make it work, though.

"David Blatt's main problem was LeBron's attitude. I sat court-side during all the games Cleveland played in Miami, I was a few feet away from the Cavaliers' bench, and I heard everything. There was no dialogue between Blatt and LeBron. Blatt would talk to Timofey Mozgov and the other guys. LeBron takes advantage of being an NBA superstar, and he needs to realize that it won't work. Everyone saw how the Golden State Warriors beat LeBron and the Cavaliers a week ago. He has to understand that to win, the entire team has to be in sync."

On Blatt's performance in Cleveland:

"Blatt did a great job in Cleveland. He did everything he could, but he realized he couldn't tell LeBron James what to do. Perhaps the Cavaliers need a general manager that carries more weight in the organization."

On why James left Miami for Cleveland:

"With the Miami Heat, LeBron James—before and after his four seasons when his contract was up with the team—made it clear that he wanted to dump head coach Erik Spoelstra. At one point, [Heat president] Pat Riley called LeBron into his office said that no one will tell him how to run the organization. Riley told James that Spoelstra is his guy and that firing Spoelstra is out of the question. That was the main reason LeBron returned to Cleveland."

On James influencing Miami's front-office decisions:

"LeBron screwed us badly; we weren't prepared for his departure from the Miami Heat. We made the wrong decisions because of LeBron James—he told us to draft a point guard [Shabazz Napier] who didn't meet the expectations, but we chose him because that's what LeBron wanted."

In a follow-up interview, Katz emphasized he did not say James had Blatt fired, just that he's reading between the lines.

"I didn't hear what LeBron and Griffin spoke of, but you can read between the lines," he said.
 
Lebron should know he shouldnt be coaching himself... after losing all those finals as player/coach
 
so y'all gonna listen to a salty Jew who is mad that another Jew Blatt was fired ?

and they in Israel talking about this shit...It ain't enough they wanna run congress now they wanna run the NBA too
Of course, matter of fact expect them to cut and paste this story while inserting Cam Newton name, with in a few years.... Same shit they did to Kobe, Jordan and even Mike Tyson...
 
Pat Riley was not having that shit. Pat coached two of the top 10 players all-time in Kareem and Magic who were consummate professionals.
Basically. Funny thing is, the one place where the leadership told him to go fuck himself, he wins chips, but in the place where he's given free reign to run wild, he stay getting his ass kicked and his teams stay on the outside looking in... Karma is a bitch :smh:
 
I don't hear Riley denying it, don't hear LeBron denying it and don't hear Spol denying it.... I don't know LeBron personally so I don't know what the hell he did or didn't do or what he's capable of doing... :hmm:
 
Bron put a ton of money in all their pockets, won titles, and increased the value of the franchise... And all he has to say is a bunch of negative shit while praising the fired Jew who was clearly in way over his head. Foh!

Gimme Spo record the year before Bron came and the year after he left...
 
finals appearance first year, first place in the conference second year.... Over his head.... :hmm:
Bron had Spo and Mike Brown in the same position. Blatt was along for the ride. Go read them articles and listen to the interviews from players on how Blatt conducted himself with Bron and the other players. Clearly in over his head.
 
If it was true then Miami made a mistake. No way you keep Spoelstra vs keeping LeBron.This story smells of bullshit though, considering the Israeli connection and former teams always wanting to sully free agents.
 
Pat Riley was not having that shit. Pat coached two of the top 10 players all-time in Kareem and Magic who were consummate professionals.
Yeah, this isn't some kind of revelation. Riley kept everything tight down in Miami.

Lebron in Cleveland? 'The Man' part 2? The Love trade for Wiggins. The TT contract bullshit. Blatt getting fired. Naturally, people are speaking out on how much control Lebron has. It's no fucking secret, nor is it about being bitter. It's a subject that is hot right now and people are weighing in on.
 
Yeah, this isn't some kind of revelation. Riley kept everything tight down in Miami.

Lebron in Cleveland? 'The Man' part 2? The Love trade for Wiggins. The TT contract bullshit. Blatt getting fired. Naturally, people are speaking out on how much control Lebron has. It's no fucking secret, nor is it about being bitter. It's a subject that is hot right now and people are weighing in on.

LeBron fucked Cleveland up plain and simple. If he had no meddled and forced such stupid ass decisions a 10 year old could have coached the team they could have. Forcing the Wiggins trade and the stupid ass Thompson signing have put this team on stuck for years. This clusterfuck is GM James' doing.
 
i dont see lebron winning another championship......dude such a dynamic player its hard to find pieces that fit with him. he's literally had cleveland and miami by their balls. nothing worse than a star that dont wanna be coached or think he's bigger than the coach. cleveland so fucked up listening to this dude....they literally HAVE to win a championship to justify the decisions they have made
 
Last edited:
i dont see lebron winning another championship......dude such a dynamic player its hard to find pieces that fit with him. he's literally had cleveland and miami by their balls. nothing worse than a star that dont wanna be coached or think he's bigger than the coach.

:ssshhh:
 
Basically. Funny thing is, the one place where the leadership told him to go fuck himself, he wins chips, but in the place where he's given free reign to run wild, he stay getting his ass kicked and his teams stay on the outside looking in... Karma is a bitch :smh:
Common sense is a bitch. Great player doesn't necessarily mean = great GM or coach. If that was the case Zeek and Magic wouldn't have flopped respectively at both. I loathe Luke 'paycheck thief' Walton as a player, but turns out he's a great coach. Lebron needs to first accept that he has a lane and then stay in it.
 
First why he saying this NOW?

He had a few years to "reveal" this.

And go back to how many bgol experts wanted Spo FIRED back then to.
 
If it was true then Miami made a mistake. No way you keep Spoelstra vs keeping LeBron.This story smells of bullshit though, considering the Israeli connection and former teams always wanting to sully free agents.
Sometimes you just have to be a man and stand firm even if it means the entire situation will collapse.
 
so y'all gonna listen to a salty Jew who is mad that another Jew Blatt was fired ?

and they in Israel talking about this shit...It ain't enough they wanna run congress now they wanna run the NBA too


100% cosign. Just Lebron hate. I don't think Lebron will win another ring, maybe one, but theres no need for the hate
 
Bron had Spo and Mike Brown in the same position. Blatt was along for the ride. Go read them articles and listen to the interviews from players on how Blatt conducted himself with Bron and the other players. Clearly in over his head.
Spo did not bow down to Lebron and forced Lebron to play off the ball and in the post. Under Spo Lebron had his best years statistically. He was shooting over 60% and dropping easy 30 pt games with only taking about 18 shots a game.

As soon as Lebron leaves Miami he reverts back to his old ways of playing on the perimeter.
 
so y'all gonna listen to a salty Jew who is mad that another Jew Blatt was fired ?

and they in Israel talking about this shit...It ain't enough they wanna run congress now they wanna run the NBA too
We dont need to listen. You can clearly see the shit unfolding right before your eyes. He tried the same shit in Miami but Pat and Mickey stood firm. If you don't see it happening then you are in denial
 
If it was true then Miami made a mistake. No way you keep Spoelstra vs keeping LeBron.This story smells of bullshit though, considering the Israeli connection and former teams always wanting to sully free agents.
Exactly.
Does anyone think the Cavs were up 2-1 in the Finals because of coaching?
LeBron leaves the Cavs, the team is in the cellar. LeBron leaves the heat, they miss the playoffs.
I am starting to think that LeBron is catching heat because he has an all black crew working for him.
They act like Blatt is Phil Jackson.
Blatt had no NBA coaching experience.
Minority owner? Like Jay-z or something. On Israel radio no less?

Okay.
 
Spo did not bow down to Lebron and forced Lebron to play off the ball and in the post. Under Spo Lebron had his best years statistically. He was shooting over 60% and dropping easy 30 pt games with only taking about 18 shots a game.

As soon as Lebron leaves Miami he reverts back to his old ways of playing on the perimeter.

Basically. if you look at the teams he's played on, the ones where he has had his biggest success were the teams he was force to play in the confines of a team dynamic who didn't placate his every whim. Those saying Miami were fools for letting him walk are not making any sense at all. When a player becomes bigger than the organization what message are you sending to the rest of the players and also, you will be that players bitch forever. It is a PROVEN fact that when Leabron has 'control' his teams are not close to as good, which is the only reason he went back to Cleveland. He was mad that Riley wouldn't kiss his ass, figured he would go back to Cleveland, do it his way, and win a chip to prove them wrong and that shit ain't working out. Now he's hamstrung the team financially and they have pieces that don't mesh so he basically proved Riley right for telling him to go fuck himself. This blind hero worship is hilarious! It's obvious LeBron is meddlesome as fuck so to me, none of this shit is far fetched. Unfortunately, LeBron is capable of fucking up too...
 
Yeah, this isn't some kind of revelation. Riley kept everything tight down in Miami.

Lebron in Cleveland? 'The Man' part 2? The Love trade for Wiggins. The TT contract bullshit. Blatt getting fired. Naturally, people are speaking out on how much control Lebron has. It's no fucking secret, nor is it about being bitter. It's a subject that is hot right now and people are weighing in on.
The benching of Mozgov is also puzzling. The trade talks involving Mozgov is also silly. I just don't understand Lebron's or front office of the Cavs thinking.

Mozgov was the anchor of the Cavs defense. Once he came on board the layup drill was cut off completely and the Cavs went on a beastly run. They were having a historical run after Mozgov came. The offense was never the issue and only the defense sucked. Mozgov fixed that but now you bench him and want to trade him?

Also why are they concerned about the regular season? So many teams have looked like world beaters just to go into the playoffs and get upset. Hell look at the Hawks last season. They were crushing teams
 
Blatt wasn't suppose to coach a Lebron lead team.. Not his fault he didn't know Bron was coming there after he got hired
 
i dont see lebron winning another championship......dude such a dynamic player its hard to find pieces that fit with him. he's literally had cleveland and miami by their balls. nothing worse than a star that dont wanna be coached or think he's bigger than the coach. cleveland so fucked up listening to this dude....they literally HAVE to win a championship to justify the decisions they have made

He ain't never had Miami by the balls we rebounded without him just fine
 
Spo did not bow down to Lebron and forced Lebron to play off the ball and in the post. Under Spo Lebron had his best years statistically. He was shooting over 60% and dropping easy 30 pt games with only taking about 18 shots a game.

As soon as Lebron leaves Miami he reverts back to his old ways of playing on the perimeter.
Under Spo?
Bron had his best years statistically after playing with the same guys for three years and then adjusting to each other.
I'm here in Miami. Watched most of the games. LeBron made Spo , it's not the other way around.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BDR
First why he saying this NOW?

He had a few years to "reveal" this.

And go back to how many bgol experts wanted Spo FIRED back then to.
To be fair, every fan complains about their coach, player rotations, substitutions and adjustments. That is just apart of watching sports.

People forget that it was Blatt decision to seek out Mozgov. Lebron did not want him because he felt it would clog up the lane. Mozgov arrives and anchors the defense and shuts down the layup drill. Teams went from scoring 100 plus on the Cavs to struggling to get 80 pts. The Cavs started to abuse teams the same way GSW are doing this year.

Then Kyrie and Love gets hurt and Blatt still crushed the east. Blatt was beating dominate teams in 5 games without two star players. Then he starts the season without Kyrie and still had a 30-11 record and first place. With Kyrie you can reasonably estimate that the Cavs would have won a few more games and instead of being 30-11 they could have been 34-7. After the Warriors lost the next two games were the nets and clippers. Blatt beat both by 13 pts and got fired.

Can't really criticize anyone for speaking out.
 
Under Spo?
Bron had his best years statistically after playing with the same guys for three years and then adjusting to each other.
I'm here in Miami. Watched most of the games. LeBron made Spo , it's not the other way around.
Can't have it both ways. Don't be the guy to give credit where credit is due. If he made Spo why is his numbers drastically lower in Cleveland than Miami? Numbers don't lie
 
Back
Top