Nov 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt, left, talks with assistant Tyronn Lue during a game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 96-86. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue says David Blatt deserves another chance to coach in the NBA. Could the New York Knicks be the team to grant that opportunity?

In firing David Blatt, the Cleveland Cavaliers made one of the most shocking decisions in recent NBA history. Blatt led Cleveland to the 2015 NBA Finals and, at the time of his firing, had the Cavaliers off to a 30-11 start—a record that had the team at No. 1 in the Eastern Conference.

With the wound still exposed from the Cleveland dissension, Blatt is now on the radar for the New York Knicks’ coaching vacancy.

It was reported on April 20 that New York’s coaching search had been cut down to two candidates: Blatt and Kurt Rambis. The former is one of the most decorated coaches in the history of international basketball, but he’s also the casualty of an unspeakably complicated situation with the Cavaliers.

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Tyronn Lue hopes that Blatt receives another opportunity to coach in the NBA.

“He definitely deserves another chance. I thought Coach Blatt did a great and phenomenal job here. He taught me a lot. Just being friends with him and getting a chance to understand him was great for me. I know a lot of guys around here, we talked about it the other day, they miss him and his presence. I would just like to just keep, stay in contact with him. Hopefully, he gets another job in this league because he deserves it.”

In other words, not everything you’ve heard about Blatt’s tenure in Cleveland is necessarily true.

Lue was an assistant coach to Blatt during his year-and-a-half as the Cavaliers’ head coach. Lue replaced Blatt in Cleveland after his firing, however, and didn’t receive an interim tag; instead, he was immediately promoted to full-time head coach.

Suspicious as that may be, Lue has publicly maintained his respect for Blatt.

Blatt wasn’t a match with LeBron James, and that spelled the end of his tenure before it started. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Blatt wasn’t a good enough coach for James, but instead an acknowledgement of how a four-time MVP will often overpower his coach when push comes to shove.

Blatt may have shown the gumption to emerge victorious from that quarrel if he had the organizational support that Phil Jackson could provide.