NEW YORK: The Cleveland Cavaliers sacked coach David Blatt on Friday, replacing him with associate coach Tyronn Lue in a shocking move for the NBA's Eastern Conference leaders.
Blatt became the first head coach to be axed with his team atop an NBA conference.
But Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said that in making the move he was "measuring more than wins and losses."
"I'm focusing on a bigger picture and I'm really trying to decide -- are we working toward a championship, are we building a championship culture," Griffin said at a press conference at Cleveland's training facility.
"Sometimes you can win games in this league in the regular season and get worse," Griffin said.
"We were regressing over a period of time. I'm in our locker room a lot and I knew that there's just a disconnect there right now.
"There's a lack of spirit and connectedness that I just couldn't accept.
"I know that sounds crazy when we're sitting with a 30-11 record. I understand that.
Griffin quashed speculation that superstar LeBron James, long thought to be cool on Blatt, had any hand in the move.
Griffin said he informed the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player -- who rejoined his home state club in 2014 with the goal of bringing a championship to the region -- along with the rest of the players after the fact.
"LeBron plays for this team," Griffin said. "LeBron doesn't run this organization, he's about this organization."
The Cavaliers' 30-11 record is third-best in the league, behind reigning champions Golden State and the Warriors' Western Conference rivals San Antonio.
Griffin said a humbling 132-98 loss on Monday to the Warriors team that bested them in the NBA Finals last season wasn't the trigger for Blatt's sacking.
Instead, he felt that while the Cavaliers had coped well with adversity -- including injuries sidelining Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert for the first two months of the season -- they were not dealing as well with "prosperity" now that they are largely healthy and on top of the East.
Blatt becomes the seventh NBA coach in 40 years to reach the championship series only to be fired the next season.
"I am proud of what we have accomplished since I have been the head coach and wish the Cavaliers nothing but the best this season and beyond," Blatt said on Twitter.
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