It’s devastating: the Cavaliers head coach has announced his unexpected departure, making a strong statement and wishing the team and fans a very fond farewell.
After the team’s 0–6 start to the regular season, the head coach confirmed his dismissal to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:
Later, Cleveland announced that Lue would be leaving, and Larry Drew had been elevated to the position of head coach in the interim. The news of Lue’s termination was initially broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic, while Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN announced Drew’s promotion.
According to Wojnarowski, Drew “is willing to bridge the immediate coaching transition with the Cavaliers, but so far he is reluctant to commit to the rest of the season” unless he makes a commitment that extends beyond this year, later on Sunday. Wojnarowski stated that “those talks are ongoing.”
The Athletic’s Joe Vardon stated that Lue’s firing may have been influenced by his preference for veterans, adding that the Cavaliers’ veterans were “pissed” about the ruling.
Lue had a 41-20 playoff record and a.607 winning percentage at the end of his two and a half seasons in Cleveland.
After David Blatt was fired midway through the 2015–16 season, he was named head coach of Cleveland. With a thrilling 3-1 NBA Finals comeback against the Golden State Warriors, he helped guide the team to its first championship.
Lue was then rewarded by the front office with a five-year, $35 million contract extension, and the Cavaliers won their third consecutive Eastern Conference championship after going 51-31.
But the Warriors got their comeuppance in a clean five-game Finals, regaining their title as NBA champions in 2016–17 and then winning the championship again in 2017–18 after sweeping the Cavaliers.
Beyond the disappointing conclusion, Lue found the previous season to be personally taxing.
He took a leave of absence in March to deal with health issues, and after receiving treatment for a few weeks, he returned in early April.
Naturally, there were concerns about Lue’s capacity to lead the Cavaliers going forward, but he made it clear after the Finals that he intended to come back.
According to Vardon of Cleveland.com at the time, Lue responded, “Yeah, I do,” when asked if he intended to return. “I had some tough problems going on throughout the course of the season, and … I probably could have folded myself, but I wasn’t going to do that.”
LeBron James’ free agency departure to join the Los Angeles Lakers altered the Cavaliers’ dynamic this offseason, as the team now features a younger, less experienced roster.
The front office will separate from Lue in the midst of the team’s winless start as they struggle to find their identity.
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