Long considered a top head coaching candidate among NBA assistants, Cleveland Cavs associate head coach Tyronn Lue has signed a multi-year deal to become the team's next head coach:
Assistant Ty Lue has agreed to a multi-year deal as new Cavaliers head coach, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 22, 2016
The Cavs are currently 30-11 and hold a 3.5 game lead for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland made the NBA Finals under Blatt in 2015, taking the Golden State Warriors to six games despite missing both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love due to injury. More on this story in the Chat Sports iPhone and Android apps.
Today's move comes at an interesting time, considering that the Cavs bounced back from a brutal 132-98 blowout loss to those same Warriors last week with wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers.
However, Lue has been rumored as the heir apparent to the Cavs HC job for over a year as rumblings of dissension in the locker room got louder and louder. Per multiple reports, Blatt never really commanded the respect of the Cleveland locker room (most importantly, LeBron James).
He also failed to live up to his reputation as an offensive mastermind, leaning on isolation plays for James and Kyrie Irving most of the time -- so much so that Kevin Love has once again found himself as a third wheel in the offense rather than another focal point.
Lue came to the Cavs with Blatt in 2014 after five combined seasons as an assistant with the Boston Celticsand Los Angeles Clippers. The 38-year-old Missouri native had a 11-year NBA playing career prior to taking up coaching, serving as a point guard for seven different teams.
Back to the Cleveland Cavaliers Newsfeed