LAS VEGAS — David Blatt was running a summer league practice with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday
morning, and the sound of someone shrieking suddenly filled the gym.
“I understood it wasn’t because of the weather,” Blatt said.
True, but welcome to the eye of the NBA storm, nonetheless.
Blatt will never forget July 11, 2014. It was the day he coached the Cavaliers for the first time, if
only in summer league. It was the day Andrew Wiggins made his debut in Cleveland’s wine-and-gold colors.
Oh, and it was the day that he learned that when his first real season running a team in the NBA begins,
he’ll have LeBron James to lead his club.
He doesn’t gamble, but Blatt may have been the biggest winner in Las Vegas on Friday, after getting word
that James will be returning to the Cavaliers after four seasons with the Miami Heat.
“I did not see this coming down the road,” Blatt said. “And I’ll be honest with you, it was not a
condition. Good things come to those who wait.”
For the record, Blatt was hired three weeks ago, but that’s not what he meant.
The Cavs waited four years. Blatt waited half a lifetime for his NBA chance. And now that one batch of
speculation is over with James having made his decision, another flurry of guessing about the Cavs
remains — centering around Wiggins, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft who was not mentioned in the
first-person essay that James penned for Sports Illustrated to announce his move.
Cleveland has been widely mentioned as a potential trade destination for Minnesota’s Kevin Love, and any
such deal would almost certainly have to include Wiggins. But with the way Blatt was talking Friday,
he’s eager to see how the former Kansas star can flourish playing with and learning from James.
“I think it’s one of the best things that could happen to him,” Blatt said. “To have the opportunity to
learn from a guy with his experience level, whose winning attitude, whose commitment to the game … he
couldn’t possibly in his wildest dreams have a better example or a better teammate and it will help him
to develop quicker.”
Wiggins finished with 18 points — not to mention more than one acrobatic display at the rim — in
Cleveland’s 70-68 victory.
“It was a big day,” Wiggins said. “We got the win, and we got LeBron back.”