It was a Sweet Lue of a day for LeBron James.
James came to Cleveland not simply to win the NBA’s Eastern Conference, but to break the city’s long-running sports-championship curse. Leaving nothing to chance, Cavaliers general manager David Griffin has handed James his coach of choice.
Cleveland made the tough call of firing Israeli coaching legend David Blatt in the midst of his second season and promoting associate head coach Tyronn Lue — a favorite of James who has a better rapport with the players.
Blatt guided the Cavaliers to the 2014-15 Eastern Conference title and had the Cavaliers atop the conference at 30-11 this season. But their humiliating 34-point loss to the defending champion Warriors in Cleveland on Monday followed by a lackluster victory over the Nets in Brooklyn on Wednesday led Griffin finally to pull the trigger.
“Ty wanted the job from the beginning, and LeBron wanted him to have it,’’ an industry source told The Post. “There was a division within the players, but J.R. [Smith], [Iman] Shumpert, even [Kevin] Love sided with LeBron. Kyrie [Irving] was supportive of Dave, but there were a group the last two weeks trying to get him fired.’’
Multiple reports have stated James wasn’t officially consulted right before the ax fell, but last season, sources said, James displayed distaste for Blatt’s overly aggressive personality. James took a leave of absence from the team, ostensibly to rest soreness in his back and knees, but more accurately to get away from Blatt.
After a playoff victory over the Bulls, James threw Blatt under the bus when he volunteered he had overruled the coach’s play in the huddle that had James taking the ball out. James had Blatt change the play, and he won it with a last-second shot.
A source also told The Post during The Finals that James checked himself back into Game 1 without Blatt’s direction, and the coach looked as if he were scrambling to pull out a player. Sources, however, also have said Blatt and Griffin weren’t close. A picture was painted that modesty wasn’t Blatt’s strong suit. The original hire was made exclusively by owner Dan Gilbert, who closely followed Blatt’s career in Israel.
Meanwhile, The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported Friday night players last season resented Blatt for never getting on his three star players — James, Love and Irving — in film sessions, prompting Lue at one point to interrupt and criticize one of them for a mess-up.
“This is my decision,” Griffin said at a press conference. “I’m not taking a poll. [Lue] is a better basketball coach for this team today. Sometimes you can win games in this league in the regular season and get worse.’’
When asked directly if James has become a coach-killer, Griffin denied LeBron made the call, but didn’t deny he saw bad interactions.
“I’ve got a problem with this narrative,’’ Griffin said. “LeBron plays for this team. He’s the leader of this team. He desperately wants to bring a championship. LeBron doesn’t run this organization. This narrative taking directions from him isn’t fair — to him or to me and this group.
“I talk to many players when we make the decision. This is one I didn’t need to ask them questions. I’ve seen them interact. I know when something is not right and what it looks like. I’m in our locker room a lot, and I knew there’s just a disconnect there right now. There is a lack of spirit and connectedness that I just couldn’t accept. Frankly, I think we have time to right the ship.’’
Perhaps referring to the postgame locker room in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Griffin said, “I have never seen a locker room not be as connected after wins as they need to be.”
Griffin also mentioned multiple times the Cavaliers have a $110 million payroll, and “people have put in too much work’’ not to do everything necessary to attempt to win the 2016 title — which would be the Cavaliers’ first and Cleveland’s first sports title since the NFL’s Browns in 1964.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle ripped the Cavaliers for their decision.
“I’m embarrassed for our league something like this can happen,” Carlisle said. “I know integrity. I know knowledge. David Blatt is going to be a sought-after coach. The other side of this is a good man has been liberated.”
Blatt (83-40 career record) could be a Nets candidate, as owner Mikhail Prokhorov once considered him to coach his Russian team.
The pride of Israel was hired before the Cavaliers knew they would snare James in free agency. Blatt released a statement, saying he was “very grateful to have had the opportunity’’ to coach the team.
Lue, who played for seven teams, including two Lakers title squads, is hammering out a three-year deal.
Griffin said Lue has played for “great coaches,’’ naming Phil Jackson as one of them. Lue also worked in Boston with current Clippers coach Doc Rivers.