Yesterday鈥檚 firing of Tyronn Lue was no surprise to longtime followers of the National Basketball Association in general, and of the Cavaliers (Cavs) in particular. The contention that players win games and coaches lose them may be cliched, but it鈥檚 also essentially true. Which was why he met the news of the change in his employment status with Zen-like calm and acceptance. He was without a victory in six games to start the 2018-19 season, and blame necessarily fell on his shoulders.
No doubt, the decision to move on from Lue wasn鈥檛 easy for the Cavaliers. After all, he helped steer them to their first-ever championship since they joined the league in 1970 — and, exponentially adding to the historic significance, as vast underdogs who had to mount a hitherto-unheard-of comeback from a one-and-three deficit in the Finals. He was the rare players鈥 mentor who didn鈥檛 just emerge from the ranks and knew whereof he spoke; he possessed the title cachet to engender respect from marquee names in his fold.
Indeed, it takes a unique blend of talent, communication skills, empathy, and leadership to shepherd today鈥檚 superstars and the constantly changing rosters around them. And, as the biggest by far of the current generation, LeBron James is especially difficult to deal with. Yet, Lue managed to rewrite record books with him, and to the point where he continually acknowledged their productive relationship. 鈥淭hanks for the memories, and, more importantly, our partnership [in] bringing a title to that deserved city/fan base,鈥 he tweeted yesterday after its subject was shown the door.
Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman is right. There will be other opportunities for Lue, just not the one that requires a playoff berth while in support of a youth movement. Meanwhile, he will be remembered for a great many things, not least of all the successful run for the Larry O鈥橞rien Trophy that culminated in him shedding happy tears alone on the bench as the buzzer sounded in Game Seven of the 2016 Finals. And, if nothing else, his experience captured the thankless job he had. In the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, the joy is in the work itself.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994.
