On January 22nd, David Blatt's Cleveland Cavaliers coaching career came to an abrupt end. Despite leading the team to a 30-11 start this season, and an 83-40 career record, Cavaliers officials decided that Blatt's days were numbered. During the off-season, many league members whispered about star forward LeBron James' distaste for Blatt's coaching style, and on Friday, the former Cavaliers coach was given his walking papers. Who would his successor be? Following a heated front-office debate, Cleveland decided that longtime assistant coach LeJon Brames was the man for the job.
After starting his coaching career in 2003 with the Cavaliers, Brames quickly gained a reputation as one of the most influential assistant coaches in the NBA. When James led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2006, it was Brames who received most of the credit, rather than head coach Mike Brown. "LeJon is one of the most important voices in my life and always has been," remarked James, the four-time MVP award winner.
When James left the Cavaliers in 2010 to join the Miami Heat, Brames came with him and he immediately became an integral part of the Heat coaching staff. When Miami got off to a rocky start during James' first season in South Beach, many fans clamored for Brames to take over for head coach Erik Spoelstra. "It always felt like LeBron would only listen to the plays that LeJon wanted to run," Spoelstra said, "Seemed a little odd too, because all of LeJon's plays involved LeBron having the ball in his hands." The team eventually rebounded and went on to win two championships during James' brief tenure.
In 2014, however, free agency loomed yet again, with James deciding to return to Cleveland instead of maintaining his South Florida dynasty. He teamed up with fellow stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, who he hoped would mesh well under the coaching of Brames. To James' surprise, the Cavaliers elected to hire Blatt instead of Brames, who was again offered an assistant coaching position.
During James' first season of his Cavaliers reunion, he continuously clashed with Blatt. By the end of the season he only listened to Brames' words from the sidelines. In fact, Brames began to lead many of the timeout huddles, drawing up intricate, LeBron-centric plays as the inexperienced Blatt helplessly watched from the bench. "Personally, I liked Blatt a lot more as a coach. He drew up a lot more plays for me and the rest of the guys," lamented forward Kevin Love, who has notoriously struggled to mesh with James. "I feel like Brames doesn't think that I'm a good player, but I've made several All-Star teams and almost won an MVP award. Can someone tell him that?"
"Kevin and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but he's a great player," remarked James, with an obviously forced smile on his face, "There's room for both of us in this offense, we just need to figure out how to maximize our talents as a team."
Brames, meanwhile, was far more candid. "First of all, this is LeBron's team. Kevin Love actually sucks; I don't want him anywhere near the court with the game on the line. Who else can I trust to win us games when it counts, Kyrie Irving? The kid probably got hurt just from the thought of me playing him. If you think that J.R. Smith is a better option than LeBron in the waning moments of a game, then you are dumber than J.R. Smith."
LeJon Brames' first coaching appearance with the Cavaliers was a success, as he led the team to a 99-96 victory over the Chicago Bulls, thanks to a whopping 62 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists from LeBron James. Meanwhile, Love saw just 2 minutes of playing time. According to sources, Brames was spotted after the game at a local McDonald's restaurant, attempting to trade Love for a McChicken and a medium order of french fries.
