After Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue was relieved of his duties on Sunday, ex-Cav LeBron James and coaches from other teams reacted to this decision.
“Thank you for the memories and more importantly, thank you for our partnership to bring this city and its fans their well-deserved championship,” LeBron James summed up on Twitter. In 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by Lue and with superstar James, won the championship and beat the current champion, the Golden State Warriors, in seven games.
Apart from his ex-player, who found friendly words for Lue, some colleagues also criticized the decision of the franchise. “I think it’s terrible. That’s the ugly part of our game. It makes me so angry when something like this happens,” said Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
Steve Kerr, coach of the Warriors, was also not happy with the dismissal of his colleague: “It’s always sad when you see that another coach is suddenly put on the streets, especially so early in the season.”
Luue’s former assistant to the Cavs, Larry Drew, will assume the position of interim coach. However, according to ESPN, Drew stressed that he was not prepared to take on this role for the rest of the season. At least not as long as there is no agreement beyond 2018/19. Discussions on this are therefore currently taking place.