The Cleveland Cavaliers are rebuilding and anything from here on will happen without Tyronn Lue. The 41-year-old bench tactician was recently served his walking papers following the woeful start of the former NBA champion team.
It was something most had foreseen since the departure of LeBron James who moved to the Los Angeles Lakers. Lue found himself a team with players mostly recruited by James when he returned to the fold back in 2014. The second coming of James managed to produce one title for the Cavs in 2016 with the rest runner-up finishes against the Golden State Warriors.
The story behind the combo of James and Lue is textbook. In 2016, it was believed that the NBA star and his agent Rich Paul influenced the decision of the Cavs to make the 41-year-old as the next head coach, the Score said. While this was unsurprisingly denied, there was no question that Lue was favored over then-coach David Blatt.
Lue went on to steer the Cavs to the title although there were many who criticized that the team’s success should be partially credited to Blatt. From there, Lue obviously had something to prove in the next couple of years. And despite a souped-up lineup, the Cavs never got to taste an NBA title again.
Fast-forwarding to this day, there are some who are wondering if James and Lue would reunite once more. James is in his first year with the Lakers and pundits believe that it will take some time before the purple and gold rise back to its winning ways.
Luke Walton, a former Laker (2003-2012) and ironically part of the Golden State Warriors coaching staff that fended off the Cavs, finds himself pressured to put James and company to good use, Lakers Nation said. He continues to work on the right combination although he may need to find the right formula fast.
The 38-year-old coach is understandably finding the right combination to compliment James but fans are not as patient. Some may call for a coaching change, premature but something that hardly comes as a surprise.
Rather than replace Walton (for now), Lue could be given a new chance to serve but only as an assistant coach. He has proven to be effective at that in the past so there is no reason for him not to be able to do that again.
Looking beyond that, James may not have the same power to demand who coaches or not – depending on how Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka handle such a situation should it arise. Being a former Laker, Lue could rejoin the same team where his NBA career began and start fresh. This, of course, remains to be seen.
