David Blatt, Kyrie Irving

Kryie Irving is a big fan of Coach David Blatt.

(Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Unless everything that I hear is wrong, the Cavaliers have no intention of firing David Blatt.

This is the NBA, and coaches are fired every year. And yes, things can change. But I'm told that the team has not had that discussion, and that their intention is to try and upgrade the roster.

With Anderson Varejao (Achilles tendon surgery) out for the season, the Cavs are prowling the league for a big man. That may lead to a trade of Dion Waiters, because the $5.3 million trade exception and a future draft pick probably is not enough to bring in a center who can actually play at a reasonable level.

Other discussions have been about finding more help at guard.

The Cavs believe Blatt has been thrown into a tough spot, and much of the media speculation has been unfair.

LeBron James has not been healthy all year, as he's now out for at least two weeks with back and knee problems. The team made the decision to rest James so he can receive treatment.

Getting James healthy and finding more big men is a much high priority than the coach right now.

The Cavs know that Blatt is a rookie head coach in the NBA, and that means a period of adjustment.

None of the players know him. His coaching staff (other than Larry Drew) were also strangers before Blatt was hired. Remember, Blatt has spent his entire career coaching in Europe, Russia with his last stop being Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Right now, the only healthy players who were together with the Cavs last season are Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova and Waiters. Mike Miller, James Jones and James played together in Miami in the past.

That's why James keeps talking about how the Cavs are going through a period of adjustment, and how "it's going to take time."

The Cavs are very pleased with how Irving has responded to Blatt. The guard is having an outstanding season and is adjusting to different roles -- sometimes running the offense, sometimes serving as shooting guard when James is the point forward.

"I'll do anything for Coach Blatt and I know (other) players (feel) the same," Irving told reporters on Monday.

When James went to Miami, Erik Spoelestra had been the Heat's head coach for two seasons -- records of 43-39 and 47-35. So he was already in place with the Heat, and known in the NBA. But much of his first season was rocky as James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade needed to adjust to each other and the coaches.

The Cavs know that, just as they know it's tougher for Blatt because he is new to the NBA.

So they see no reason to make a coaching change now.

ABOUT LEBRON AND BLATT

By now, most fans have heard or read the quote where James said of Blatt, "Yeah, he's our coach. I mean what other coach do we have?"

It made it sound as if James was dismissing Blatt. That comment came toward the end of a long interview with the media on December 30, his 30th birthday. And it started with talk of him being 30, then turned into several minutes of coach talk.

Here are some of the other things that James said:

1. "I think my relationship with the coach continues to get better and better every day. It's just two months of us being together. I don't know him fully. He doesn't know me fully. He doesn't know any of the guys fully, and that's to be expected. It's our first year together. But he has our attention."

2. "He has our attention. We have to do a better job of doing what they want us to do."

3. "Him being our head coach, it hasn't been a problem."

4. "(People) want instant success in our sport ... we've not been together that long ... it's hard to ask (that) from a team that is together for the first time."

5. "Yeah, he's our coach, I mean, what other coach do we have? I'm happy who we have at our helm. He's our coach. To make a feud between me and Blatt or the team and Blatt, it's just to sell. To sell and get people to read it and put something at the bottom of the ticker. That's all it is."

THE BOTTOM LINE

James knows the Cavs are in the middle of a media hurricane. Everything said is blown up very big. James has always sounded a bit cool talking about his coaches, starting with Paul Silas and all the way through Mike Brown to Erik Spoelstra to Blatt. More than a few times in the interview, he said Blatt "is not a problem."

The "What other coach do we have comment?" came at the end when he was just getting tired of all the questions.

James is dealing with a cranky knee and back issues that have bothered him all year. He is frustrated by the lack of progress made by the team. But it's ridiculous to think he is leading a rebellion against the coach only two months into the season.

MOVING FORWARD

Blatt has a chance to put his stamp on the team as the Cavs play the next few weeks without James and Varejao.

Friday's 91-87 victory in Charlotte was a good first step as it snapped a three-game losing streak. Yes, the Hornets are a bad team (10-24), but the Cavs have shown recently they can lose to about anyone -- including Detroit at Quicken Loans Arena.

With James out, Kevin Love can play a larger role in the offense. He has been battling some back issues and missed a game earlier in the week. He delivered 27 points and several clutch shots in Charlotte. His high this season is 28.

But remember that Love averaged 26 points in Minnesota last season. He can be a big-time scorer. Blatt has to put the 6-foot-10 forward in position to produce.

Tristan Thompson has started the last five games, averaging 13.8 points and 12.3 rebounds.

It's time for Irving and Love to set the tone, for Waiters to score off the bench while Shawn Marion and Thompson defend inside. Marion had 10 rebounds in 24 minutes in Charlotte.

The Cavs have six of their next eight games on the road, including a challenging five-game West Coast trip. While the Cavs announced that James will be out two weeks, it could be more. They won't rush him back until he's reasonably healthy.

Blatt still has some talented players available, it will be be fascinating to see if he can keep the team playing close to .500 basketball while James is out.