Heat: Heat part-owner: LeBron wanted Spoelstra fired in Miami

[lefty]

Wtf

[lefty]

REUTERS/Mike Stone
Heat part-owner: LeBron wanted Spoelstra fired in Miami
John Chick Jan 26 2016, 08:48PM
Attempts to paint LeBron James as a coach-killer in the wake of the Cleveland Cavaliers' dismissal of David Blatt continued Tuesday when a minority owner of the Miami Heat said James frequently tried to get Erik Spoelstra fired during his tenure in South Florida.

"LeBron James - before and after his four seasons when his contract was up with the team - made it clear that he wanted to dump head coach Erik Spoelstra," Heat limited partner Raanan Katz told Israeli radio station 102FM while appearing on a panel with Bleacher Report's David Pick. "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."

Spoelstra and James won two NBA les, and reached The Finals in all four seasons they were together. There were rumors of disagreements very early on in James' Heat tenure, but they faded into the background once the team began winning regularly.


Katz also lambasted James for his actions in June 2014, when he publicly encouraged the Heat to draft that spring's March Madness hero Shabazz Napier - two weeks before he signed with the Cavaliers as a free agent.

"LeBron screwed us badly," Katz said. "We made the wrong decisions because of LeBron James - he told us to draft a point guard (Napier) who didn't meet the expectations, but we chose him because that's what LeBron wanted."

Katz, an Israeli-American businessman, is a minority holder in the Heat's hierarchy below majority owner Micky Arison. He stopped short of saying that James got Blatt fired in Cleveland, but said he sensed problems between the two.

"I spoke to David Blatt while he was here in Miami when the Heat played the Cavaliers," Katz said. "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."

[Mitch]

Soccer is for s, Lefty.

[TDMVPDPOY]

guy is a minority owner who just own good seats

doesnt mean he was in the board room making decisions and ...

[Thebesteva]

Soccer is for s, Lefty.

You hate me...defend Mayweather and Lebron. Does it get any more obvious who you are? FFS

[AlexJones]

>Israeli-American

Yeah, no story here. I'd trust Tila Tequila over these s.

[Mitch]

You hate me...defend Mayweather and Lebron. Does it get any more obvious who you are? FFS

Hate? Nah, you have to care to hate.

You're just a pinoy nurse posing as a doctor, I find that funny.

[StrengthAndHonor]

You hate me...defend Mayweather and Lebron. Does it get any more obvious who you are? FFS

Do tell!

[Spurtacular]

You hate me...defend Mayweather and Lebron. Does it get any more obvious who you are? FFS

Someone signed in on the wrong account....

[Spurtacular]

Taking belated parting shots; can't really blame Lebron for leaving, tbh.

[Spurtacular]

"That was the main reason LeBron returned to Cleveland."

If Miami is stupid enough to choose Spoelstra over Lebron, then they deserve exactly what they got. How stupid can they be?

[313]

If Miami is stupid enough to choose Spoelstra over Lebron, then they deserve exactly what they got. How stupid can they be?

It's not like they were winning another ring with that roster anyway

[Spurtacular]

It's not like they were winning another ring with that roster anyway

With the emergence of Whiteside and the right FA's I wouldn't say that they'd be any worse than Bron is in Cleveland, probably better, tbh.

[MultiTroll]

>Israeli-American

Yeah, no story here. I'd trust Tila Tequila over these s.

Already reports he has reneged on the story.
Now saying LeBron never asked to have Spo replaced.

[MultiTroll]

With the emergence of Whiteside and the right FA's I wouldn't say that they'd be any worse than Bron is in Cleveland, probably better, tbh.

Ya 25-21 is better then 31-12.

[Spurtacular]

Ya 25-21 is better then 31-12.

I'll give you some time to figure out why this is the most idiotic point you could make.

[MultiTroll]

I'll give you some time to figure out why this is the most idiotic point you could make.

I could give you some time to figure out LeBron is a FA again at the end of this season.
Cavs have the idiotic Love contract.
Heat have the idiotic Wade contract.

[Thread]

It's not like they were winning another ring with that roster anyway

It was a goddamn miracle they won that one. And sweetheart you know the one I'm referencing.

Somehow your stupid ass ended up without it. Left ya's settin' in that arena in Tonio---dead in the ground.

ha, ha.

[Clipper Nation]

"Heat part-owner: I'm still salty and bitter that LeBron left our franchise"

[lefty]

If Miami is stupid enough to choose Spoelstra over Lebron, then they deserve exactly what they got. How stupid can they be?

You cant let a player run your team, unless you want to up your salary cap - just look at Tristan Thompson's contract

Why do you think Krause didnt get along with Mike?

The same Krause who traded Oakley for Bill Cartwright and infuriated Mike; it turned out to be a good move and Mike didnt leave Chicago

if Mike had his way


Wait, he does in Charlotte

[Thread]

You cant let a player run your team, unless you want to up your salary cap - just look at Tristan Thompson's contract

Why do you think Krause didnt get along with Mike?

The same Krause who traded Oakley for Bill Cartwright and infuriated Mike; it turned out to be a good move and Mike didnt leave Chicago

if Mike had his way


Wait, he does in Charlotte

It was not easy for Riley there, but, in the end there was only one decision. And he made the correct one. The Spurs have rarely if ever been confronted with this nonsense (player running it). You are the lone exception to this obvious rule.

And you are correct about Krause. And Media did sell him out, posted the demeaning pics of him being fat, 5 O'clock shadow, ill dressed---fomenting insurrection by the players. But, Jerry Krause was a winner. And he never got kicked out of the league for a year.

Jerry Krause

[lefty]

It was not easy for Riley there, but, in the end there was only one decision. And he made the correct one. The Spurs have rarely if ever been confronted with this nonsense (player running it). You are the lone exception to this obvious rule.

And you are correct about Krause. And Media did sell him out, posted the demeaning pics of him being fat, 5 O'clock shadow, ill dressed---fomenting insurrection by the players. But, Jerry Krause was a winner. And he never got kicked out of the league for a year.

Jerry Krause

Yup Krause is the one who built the championship teams; he made questionable moves at the time, but the right ones; he had also followed Phil Jackson for a long time before deciding to hire him when the timing was right

[Spurtacular]

I could give you some time to figure out LeBron is a FA again at the end of this season.
Cavs have the idiotic Love contract.
Heat have the idiotic Wade contract.

Miami would be just as good if not better had James stayed. The fact that he was FA was never the argument.

[HarlemHeat37]

"Heat part-owner: I'm still salty and bitter that LeBron left our franchise"

Actually, the "part owner" in question has been banned from Heat meetings and has been banned from contacting Heat employees for years, apparently

Arison has been trying to buy him out for a long time, even prior to Lebron joining..

[Spurtacular]

You cant let a player run your team, unless you want to up your salary cap - just look at Tristan Thompson's contract

Why do you think Krause didnt get along with Mike?

The same Krause who traded Oakley for Bill Cartwright and infuriated Mike; it turned out to be a good move and Mike didnt leave Chicago

if Mike had his way


Wait, he does in Charlotte

Running a team and an ultimatum between he and the coach are 2 different things. If you're arguing slippery slope, then there's some merit. But what was more important, retaining LBJ or Spoelstra? The former offers perennial championship contention.