NBA Rumor: Cavs Make Offer To Michigan State’s Tom Izzo
You already know that there’s a shakeup going on in Cleveland, but now it appears that the Cavs could be making a bold move: Offering their head coaching job to Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. According to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald, a league source has stated that the Cavs have in fact already made him an offer to be their next head coach, and that it’s going to take a lot of money to convince him to leave the college ranks.
The credentials speak for themselves. Four-time National Coach of the Year, five Final Four appearances, 13 straight NCAA Tournaments. And to add some fuel to the fire, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert graduated from Michigan State and is known to hold Izzo in high regard. But is he who LeBron wants? Really, that’s all that matters.
As with all the potential coach hirings on teams in pursuit of LeBron (Cleveland, New Jersey, Los Angeles), they’re not going to want to hire a coach until they get a read on whether or not King James would mind him ruling his kingdom. That’s why the Knicks made the move for Mike D’Antoni when they did (after their kinship during USA Basketball) and why names like John Calipari and Mike Krzyzewski won’t go away.
Right now, Izzo makes an estimated $3 million a year, and is under contract at MSU through 2016. Could the NBA riches tempt him? That’s yet to be seen. But many do believe that he would be a successful NBA coach. Is Cleveland the right team? Time will only tell.
What do you think? Should the Cavs hire Izzo?
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June 7th, 2010 at 11:27 am
The Other Aj says:
Izzo would be crazy to leave Mich State. He’s like royalty in Lansing.
Mike Brown was just fired after 3 60 + win seasons. To much expectation. Just stay going to Final Fours until you retire.
June 7th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Adam Flomenbaum says:
Izzo would be a great NBA coach – with the right pieces. I don’t see him leaving MSU anytime soon, especially for a Cavs team that could win 60+ games with LeBron or <30 games without him. He might make LeBron's short list of coaches he wants to play for, and if he finds himself in that situation in conjunction with a LeBron signing he should reconsider. The Bulls got these preemptive coach signings rolling by snagging the best coach available pre-LeBron, so it looks like more teams will follow suit so that they don't lose out.
June 7th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Heckler says:
this seems pretty foolish to me.
what reason does tom izzo have to leave mich state and go the nba?
does dan gilbert think a 1st yr pro coach is going to get him a chip?
if an ex-coach of the year, can win 66 games and then 61 games and still be fired, what reason is there for anyone else to take this job?
tom izzo is a respectable college coach, but i dont see him being to successful in the nba.
(c)LEAVE-LAND is making a pure mess.
June 7th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Claw says:
He’s been there, done that. Why not leave to try the NBA, and to be given the best player is another incentive to take the deal. Now if Lebron isn’t in, then that’s another story but to take a team and get them over the hump, that’d be huge to Izzo’s legacy.
Make twice as much and if it doesn’t work go back, what do you think Pitino and Calipari had a problem getting college jobs after their NBA stints?
June 7th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Aron Phillips says:
What reason does any coach have to leave their situation? There’s always the chance to make more money and accomplish bigger goals on a grander stage.
June 7th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
futuristic handgun says:
bad idea. Sam Mitchell, Mark Jackson, Eric Snow, Byron Scott; these are better ideas.
June 7th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
coachmurdog says:
Cleveland’s roster features a bunch of players that can’t win, regardless of the coaching they receive. Mike Brown wasn’t an amazing coach, but he wasn’t terrible either. The only way Tom Izzo goes to Cleveland is if LeBron resigns and he can bring his current team and his recruited prospects with him (haha, kidding, STAY IN EAST LANSING TOM! WE LOVE YOU!)