CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When the Cleveland Cavaliers elevated Tyronn Lue to head coach on Jan. 22, 2016, taking over for embattled David Blatt, Lue was the perfect person for the job.
That was a veteran group, one with title aspirations. Cleveland needed a player's coach who had earned LeBron James' respect and spent plenty of time around some of the NBA's finest. His resume gave him credibility. It allowed him to challenge James and some of the other vets. He built trust that Blatt lost. The bold stroke by then-GM David Griffin ultimately led to the Cavaliers' first NBA championship a few months later.