David Blatt
David Blatt has experienced resounding success at every stop of his coaching career. Between his under-appreciated seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and his legendary runs in Europe, Blatt has earned the respect of the basketball community.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the New York Knicks have made it a point to schedule a meeting with the European titan for the current head coaching vacancy.
The Knicks have set up a meeting with ex-Cavaliers coach David Blatt too, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 15, 2018
Blatt may not have experienced the most rewarding of tenures with the Cavaliers, but he’s one of the most respected coaches in the basketball world.
Over the course of his one-and-a-half seasons in Cleveland, Blatt compiled a record of 83-40—good for a win percentage of .675. He helped the injury-plagued Cavaliers reach the 2015 NBA Finals and had the team on top of the Eastern Conference standings at the time of his dismissal.
In Europe, Blatt has won seven league championships between three Associations, the 2014 EuroLeague title, the 2018 EuroCup crown, and a gold medal at EuroBasket.
What’s enabled Blatt to become so successful is a combination of defensive knowledge and offensive creativity. He runs a modernized version of the Princeton offense, as well as a defense that’s based on accountability.
Considering Blatt has existing relationships with both Steve Mills and Craig Robinson, it’s safe to assume he’ll be a heavily considered option.