The Athletic – quoting at least three unnamed players – reported the Cavaliers are rebelling against John Beilein’s collegiate coaching style.
Cleveland big Tristan Thompson, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com:“Y’all better find them names ‘cause I’ll pull up on ‘em right now,” Thompson said. “You can’t do that s---.
“At the end of the day if you’re going to build a culture and a family, you can’t have that Chatty Patty s--- going on. That s--- is whack to me. Everyone’s got to look in the mirror, there’s only so much coach can do and there’s only so much we can do. Do we have the best roster in the NBA? No. But we’re going to go out there and compete every night. Guys got to look in the mirror. So I hope whoever reported that was just bulls------g and blamed it on a player.”
That’s quite the rhetoric from Thompson. I wonder whether he has the same energy in the locker room.
Thompson confronting his teammates would certainly raise the stakes. And make no mistake: His teammates are among the unnamed sources. The report not only specifically cited players, it said “Veterans and younger players, from all corners of the roster” are having issues with Beilein.
Even if he supports his coach, that’s a lot for Thompson to take on.
But if he’s looking for a place to start, I have a guess.