Steve Kerr caused a minor bit of controversy on Monday night, when he decided to hand coaching responsibilities during timeouts over to his players. Some believed that Kerr was disrespecting the Warriors’ opponents, the Phoenix Suns, while Kerr defended the move by saying the Warriors’ players needed to take ownership of the team.
Either way, Golden State won, 129-83, so the move technically worked. It’s also led to discussion about the viability of this happening elsewhere, and before things get too far off the rails in Cleveland, Tyronn Lue wanted to try and make sure no one brought this up with the Cavs.
Why? Well, because Lue already hears the chatter about who runs his team, and if there’s one thing he cannot take right now as things are starting to look up for the franchise, it’s a fresh round of rumors that LeBron James is in charge of things.
Ty Lue with a funny quip about Steve Kerr handing over the coaching duties to his players last night: “I wouldn’t do that. They already say LeBron is coaching the team, anyway. So, if I give him the clipboard they’re really going to say that.”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 13, 2018
Kudos to Lue for cracking a joke that was pretty obvious, but also brought light to a situation in Cleveland that probably hasn’t been easy for him to hear ever since he took the reins in 2016. Being called a head coach who stands there while one of his players runs the show isn’t exactly a compliment, so good on Lue for seeing the opportunity for some self-deprecating humor and running with it.
