Kyrie Irving won a ring with Tyronn Lue as the head coach, the players’ hand-pick choice to take over in Cleveland when David Blatt was pushed out the door.
Kenny Atkinson is now out the door in Brooklyn, and Irving wants to repeat his experience with Lue, reports Vincent Goodwill at Yahoo Sports.
As expected, Irving’s camp denies this is the case.
Lue was one of the names quickly circulating around NBA circles as a possible long-term replacement, along with Mark Jackson and others.
Lue took over in the middle of the 2015-16 season in Cleveland, led the team to a ring, then coached two full seasons after that. The next season, after LeBron James and Irving were gone and the rebuild was starting, the Cavaliers front office decided to go another direction.
There are reasons Lue would be a solid hire. He’s a former player respected by current players. He is a better Xs and Os coach than his critics give him credit for. And, Lue has proven he can coach superstars at the highest level of the game.
For the Nets, that’s the next step.