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Katz used to be a shareholder of Maccabi Tel Aviv when Blatt coached here years ago, in addition to his role as a minority owner of the Heat. During the radio interview, Katz revealed a bomb of a storythat LeBron James "made it clear" he wanted Erik Spoelstra fired during his tenure with the Miami Heat.
Below are Katz's full comments from Tuesday's radio appearance:
On the relationship between Blatt and James:
"I spoke to David Blatt while he was here in Miami when the Heat played the Cleveland Cavaliers. He didn't see it coming, but I could tell the situation wasn't 100 percent working. I thought LeBron James had enough brains to make it work, though."
"David Blatt's main problem was LeBron's attitude. I sat court-side during all the games Cleveland played in Miami, I was a few feet away from the Cavaliers' bench, and I heard everything. There was no dialogue between Blatt and LeBron. Blatt would talk to Timofey Mozgov and the other guys. LeBron takes advantage of being an NBA superstar, and he needs to realize that it won't work. Everyone saw how the Golden State Warriors beat LeBron and the Cavaliers a week ago. He has to understand that to win, the entire team has to be in sync."
On Blatt's performance in Cleveland:
"Blatt did a great job in Cleveland. He did everything he could, but he realized he couldn't tell LeBron James what to do. Perhaps the Cavaliers need a general manager that carries more weight in the organization."
On why James left Miami for Cleveland:
"With the Miami Heat, LeBron Jamesbefore and after his four seasons when his contract was up with the teammade it clear that he wanted to dump head coach Erik Spoelstra. At one point, [Heat President] Pat Riley called LeBron into his office said that no one will tell him how to run the organization. Riley told James that Spoelstra is his guy, and that firing Spoelstra is out of the question. That was the main reason LeBron returned to Cleveland."
On James influencing Miami front-office decisions:
"LeBron screwed us badly, we weren't prepared for his departure from the Miami Heat. We made the wrong decisions because of LeBron Jameshe told us to draft a point guard [Shabazz Napier] who didn't meet the expectations, but we chose him because that's what LeBron wanted."
Below are Katz's full comments from Tuesday's radio appearance:
On the relationship between Blatt and James:
"I spoke to David Blatt while he was here in Miami when the Heat played the Cleveland Cavaliers. He didn't see it coming, but I could tell the situation wasn't 100 percent working. I thought LeBron James had enough brains to make it work, though."
"David Blatt's main problem was LeBron's attitude. I sat court-side during all the games Cleveland played in Miami, I was a few feet away from the Cavaliers' bench, and I heard everything. There was no dialogue between Blatt and LeBron. Blatt would talk to Timofey Mozgov and the other guys. LeBron takes advantage of being an NBA superstar, and he needs to realize that it won't work. Everyone saw how the Golden State Warriors beat LeBron and the Cavaliers a week ago. He has to understand that to win, the entire team has to be in sync."
On Blatt's performance in Cleveland:
"Blatt did a great job in Cleveland. He did everything he could, but he realized he couldn't tell LeBron James what to do. Perhaps the Cavaliers need a general manager that carries more weight in the organization."
On why James left Miami for Cleveland:
"With the Miami Heat, LeBron Jamesbefore and after his four seasons when his contract was up with the teammade it clear that he wanted to dump head coach Erik Spoelstra. At one point, [Heat President] Pat Riley called LeBron into his office said that no one will tell him how to run the organization. Riley told James that Spoelstra is his guy, and that firing Spoelstra is out of the question. That was the main reason LeBron returned to Cleveland."
On James influencing Miami front-office decisions:
"LeBron screwed us badly, we weren't prepared for his departure from the Miami Heat. We made the wrong decisions because of LeBron Jameshe told us to draft a point guard [Shabazz Napier] who didn't meet the expectations, but we chose him because that's what LeBron wanted."
