How crazy has the NBA coaching carousel been lately?

Pretty crazy. Now ex-Cavaliers head coach David Blatt was fired last week with a 30-11 record, good for a comfortable lead in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, but it turns out that Cavaliers management wasn’t satisfied.

Number of coaches have sounded off about their displeasure with Blatt’s firing. Rick Carlisle, Stan Van Gundy, and even Gregg Popovich. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has now chimed in his thoughts on the situation.

Spoelstra, who is the NBA’s second-longest tenured coach behind Popovich, had the following to say about Blatt being fired:

Spoelstra is probably the one guy in the NBA that understands Blatt’s situation so well. Spoelstra of course had LeBron James for four years on the Heat and had to get them to work well with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. After starting 8-7 in his first year with LeBron on the team, many questioned Spoelstra’s coaching, and it became increasingly notable when guys like James were frustrated.

Heat president Pat Riley, who handpicked Spoelstra to be the Heat’s head coach after he stepped down, decided to hang onto Spoelstra, and Spoelstra ended up going to the NBA Finals four times in LeBron’s four years, winning twice, back-to-back.

Spoelstra has the Heat at 23-21 this year with multiple injuries. Many expect the Heat to take off when they get their guys back, and Spoelstra is one of the most respected coaches in the league, so many think that’ll happen.

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