Report: LeBron, agent wanted Tyronn Lue as head coach since last season
LeBron James and his agent Rich Paul may have played some part in the decision to hire Tyronn Lue as the Cleveland Cavaliers' head coach.
James and his agent had been strong advocates for Lue since last season, league sources told Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
Lue joined Cleveland as the team's associate head coach in June 2014, just a couple months before James re-joined the Cavaliers.
Per source: This was GM David Griffin's call. He didn't consult any players. He convinced ownership #Cavs were underachieving.
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) January 22, 2016
Although multiple reports indicate James was not consulted on the decision to hire Blatt, his support for Lue appears to have been taken into consideration.
James was reportedly not the only player to prefer Lue to Blatt, as Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports indicates there was "buzz" that several Cavaliers "were done with Blatt."
LeBron did/said all the right things to publicly support Blatt this year. This was an entire locker room issue. No one connected with him
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) January 22, 2016
Amick adds that Blatt's frequent unwillingness to challenge the four-time MVP was also a factor in his downfall.