Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale was unexpectedly fired late Monday afternoon, and it shocked the entire NBA world — journalists and fans, yes, but also the most notable basketball player in the world.
Just 26 minutes after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Fizdale was fired, LeBron James reacted on Twitter like this:
I need some answers. Feels like my man was a fall guy
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 27, 2017
James also retweeted The Vertical’s Michael Lee, who commented on how shocking this was. (Lee is great and this is a well-deserved retweet.)
David Fizdale firing was so stunning I had to check, double-check & triple-check Woj's Twitter account to make sure it was legit. I then made sure it was a legit blue check, went over to Woj's Twitter page & scrolled down again because I didn't want to be duped by a fake account
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) November 27, 2017
Along with James, Cavaliers teammate Dwyane Wade also jumped in attempting to understand the decision.
I need answers!!! WTF https://t.co/z39oNRQok0
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) November 27, 2017
A few other players chimed in, including Damian Lillard and Vince Carter.
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) November 27, 2017
Wow smh ♂️ just wow!!!
— Vince Carter (@mrvincecarter15) November 27, 2017
Carter, who played for Fizdale in Memphis last season, elaborated on his tweet in an interview with ESPN’s The Undefeated:
It’s unfortunate. He’s a great guy. It’s bigger than basketball for him. He wants to teach guys how to play the game and teach guys how to be men. Men of service. Men in the community. It’s unfortunate when you see bad things happen to good guys like that, because he wants the best for guys.
He would tell all his players, ‘My job is to get you paid and get you some money in this league.’ It wasn’t about anything else. Of course, the organization wants to win. But he wanted to see guys reach their potential. I don’t [know why]. I don’t. It just unfortunate.
To say it was shocking is no understatement. It seems increasingly like Fizdale’s firing was related to conflicts he had with Marc Gasol, and that relationship soured beyond repair when Fizdale benched Gasol for the entire fourth quarter of a close game on Sunday night. That loss was Memphis’ seventh straight, but Fizdale is a good coach who has been forced to deal with a rough situation.
That said, it’s slightly amusing that James is commenting on a coach firing being a scapegoat. You could argue that’s exactly why David Blatt was fired from the Cavaliers during the 2015-16 season, even though Cleveland had the best record in the Eastern Conference at the time of the firing. The situations aren’t identical, either.
Ultimately, that firing ended up working, as Cleveland won the championship that season. Should we start prepping for a Memphis title run, then?