- The Cleveland Cavaliers surprisingly fired head coach David Blatt in 2016 despite having the best record in the East
- Tyronn Lue, who was Blatt’s top assistant, was offered the role but wasn’t sure about taking it
- A phone call with Jerry West played a part in changing his mind
Accepting the head coaching role with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 was one of the best decisions that Tyronn Lue has made in his life. It appears it wasn’t one that he initially wanted to make, however, and it took some convincing from his mentors for him to take on the role.
During an appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast, Lue revealed he was scared at first to accept it and called Doc Rivers for some advice. Rivers told him to go for it after which Lue rang up Jerry West, who was furious that he was hesitating to accept the job.
“Then I called Jerry West,” Lue said. “He went, ‘You mother-, you what the.’ He going crazy. ‘You gotta take the job. If you don’t, somebody else is gonna take it.’ So, I took the job and like I said, I was scared. I was nervous ’cause I didn’t know like we haven’t had a training camp. It’s not my team. It’s not my players.”
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It definitely would have been the wrong decision had Lue passed up on the chance. Not everyone gets an opportunity to coach in the NBA, let alone coach a team that has LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love on it. West knew how rare that was and fortunately, Lue listened to him.
The Cavaliers Were Taking A Big Gamble Here
Had the Cavaliers not won it all that season, then the decision to fire David Blatt and hire Lue would have certainly been termed a poor one. Lue had no prior head coaching experience in the NBA and was taking over a team that was competing for a championship.
The Cavaliers were also leading the Eastern Conference with a 30-11 record when Blatt was let go and if things had gone south after that, it would have gone down as one of the bigger mistakes in recent history. Instead, Lue masterminded the greatest comeback in NBA history as the Cavaliers roared back from down 3-1 to beat the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
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