Cavs GM David Griffin: 'LeBron doesn't run this organization'

Two short hours after dropping a bombshell on the NBA by firing head coach David Blatt, Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin took to the dais to address the shockingly abrupt move.

Related: David Blatt says 'I am proud of what we have accomplished'

After coaching them to within two games of an NBA title last season, Blatt had the Cavs on top of the Eastern Conference at 30-11, despite prolonged injury absences to Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert. In short, Griffin had a good deal of explaining to do.

Here are some of the most notable quotes:

"This is not an indictment on David Blatt as a coach."

The Cavs are the best team ever to fire their coach midseason. Blatt had the best winning percentage of any Cleveland coach in history. The Cavs had stumbled against the Spurs and Warriors, but they remained the East's best team by a mile. If firing the coach in that situation isn't an indictment of the coach, what is?

"LeBron (James) doesn't run this organization."

Griffin said this in response to the suggestion that Blatt's firing owed to a royal decree from King James himself. Given the longstanding rumors of discord and disconnect between Blatt and James, and the report that James has long wanted Tyronn Lue to ascend to the coach's chair, Griffin's assurance is likely to be met with some derision.

"Pretty good is not what we're here for ... I'm not leaving an unprecedented team payroll to chance."

Throwing down the gauntlet. If the Cavs felt like they were under pressure to win a title before, this only turns up the heat. (A source told ESPN's Dave McMenamin that "everyone is in the crosshairs right now.") They've taken one scapegoat out of the picture, which means one less to fall back on should they come up short again. Does swapping out Blatt for Lue take Cleveland from "pretty good" to "good enough"?

"We respond really well to a measure of chaos ... This team does not handle expectation well."

The implication seems to be that part of Griffin's motivation for the move was the prospect of creating a sense of chaos the Cavs could thrive on. Which is an ... interesting tack to take. Griffin also pointed out that the team "is not galvanized after wins."

"I feel like we won't miss a whole lot, but we'll gain a lot in areas that are critical to us."

So much for this not being an indictment of Blatt.