David Blatt announced he was leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv to join the NBA, but he didn’t say where he’d coach next season.
Probably because he doesn’t know yet.
Marc Stein of ESPN:Sources told ESPN.com on Friday that Blatt, an American-Israeli who rose to prominence coaching abroad after playing at Pete Carril’s Princeton, is poised to land either with the Warriors as an assistant or with the Cavaliers as their head coach after barging his way into Cleveland’s search in recent days.
“It will be Golden State or Cleveland,” one source said.
David Pick of Eurobasket.com:
Just asked Blatt to narrow down his options for me. "I need to meet with Cavaliers in person. Prob next week in US. Warriors opt too."
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) June 12, 2014
Obviously, becoming a head coach would be preferable, but assisting Steve Kerr in Golden State with all the Warriors offensive options is not a bad fallback.
The key in Cleveland will be securing an interview with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who’s already spoken with a couple candidates. That’s who Blatt must impress – and then deal with if he accepts the job.
Golden State isn’t just sitting back and waiting for Blatt, though.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Another respected NBA assistant who's talked with Golden State's Steve Kerr about joining staff, sources tell Yahoo: Boston's Ron Adams.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 13, 2014
Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe:
Could the Warriors add Blatt and Adams? That would be a heck of a coaching staff with big-time credentials – except, you know, the head coach with no experience.
Phil Jackson could learn a lesson here. Golden State is positioning Kerr to succeed by surrounding him with established coaching talent. It seems the Knicks are content to let Fisher sink or swim with an underwhelming staff.
And the Cavaliers? I’m not sure what they’re doing, but at least they have a quality coaching prospect – Blatt – in their pool of candidates.