Cleveland Cavaliers Coach David Blatt is not Going Anywhere

First-year coach David Blatt is not leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers anytime soon. General manager David Griffin defended Blatt against recent rumors claiming that the players and the organization have lost confidence in him.

Griffin called the "narrative" of these reports "ridiculous," adding that Blatt "is the coach and will be the coach." The young GM also defended Blatt's coaching ability, stating that Blatt is a "work in progress" since it is his first year in the NBA.

Reports regarding the Cavaliers' coaching situation surfaced last week with several sources stating that the team's organization is concerned about Blatt's ability. However, Griffin rejected the notion that Blatt's position could be at jeopardy.

"Do not write that as a vote of confidence. He never needed one. It was never a question. So don't write it that way. No change is being made, period," Griffin stated according to ESPN.com. "It's such a ridiculous assertion. It seemed giving life to it is what would happen by talking about it so I didn't want to do that. At the same time it's just time for everybody to get on with it. We have a chance to galvanize ourselves and grow and move in a positive direction so I want to make sure we're doing that in a fresh environment."

The Cavaliers were expected to perform better than they have been with the return of LeBron James. However, despite having an impressive starting roster, which includes Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, the Cavaliers are only 19-15. They are fifth in the Easter Conference.

The Cavaliers have dealt with consistency issues due to injuries. LeBron has been sitting out and will continue to sit out for at least two weeks because of lower back and knee problems. Irving and Love have also faced injuries of their own. On top of that, the team lost Anderson Varejao for the season to an Achilles injury.

The Cavaliers will take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.