Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Ty Lue w/ Kevin Love — Image credit: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
It only took six games for the Cleveland Cavaliers to figure out they’re not what they thought they were. When LeBron James decided to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers was the moment the Cavaliers should’ve hit GO on a rebuild.
The Cavaliers fired head coach Ty Lue on Sunday, their team has started the season 0-6. But their terrible start isn’t all Lue’s fault.
When James took his talents to the west coast in the summer, Cleveland decided to move forward with Kevin Love as the focal point of their offense. But Love has been injury prone, he’s missed time this season because of a sore foot.
It can’t be ignored that Love also was on the court for two ugly losses this season to Atlanta and Brooklyn.
Love, J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, and George Hill are legitimate supporting role players for a team with a superstar on it. The Cavaliers don’t have that. They do, however, have a handful of young players in need of playing time.
This is where Lue reportedly had a difference in opinion with the general manager and owner.
Via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Sources told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that Lue recently had a disagreement with Altman over playing veterans. Altman preferred that Kyle Korver and JR Smith be taken out of the rotation to give time to younger players. After one game in which they didn’t play, Lue put both back in the rotation without consulting Altman.
Gilbert has also encouraged more playing time for rookie Collin Sexton, sources told Windhorst. Sexton is averaging just 23.5 minutes per game.
Perspective on Cleveland Firing Lue
Cleveland’s decision to re-sign Love over the summer indicated their belief this was a team capable of competing for a playoff spot. They banked on Lue figuring out a way to make the roster work. When he decided to stay with his veterans, they pulled the plug on him. But firing Lue six games into the season, winless or not, points towards something bigger going on with this team.
Ty Lue — Image credit: Gregory Shamus / Staff, Getty
General manager Koby Altman deserves his share of blame. He had an opportunity go all-in with the youth movement after James left. If that meant letting Lue go, he should’ve did it then. Owner Dan Gilbert is just as guilty.
And if it comes out that the reason for firing Lue is because management feels interim coach Larry Drew can do a better job with the current roster, again, why not make that move this past summer?
It took for Cleveland to start 0-6 before realizing the end of the LeBron James era should’ve been the beginning of a new chapter for their team. If you’re going to start over, do exactly that — start over.
Cleveland tried to re-tool with a flawed roster and Lue was the first casualty of that poor decision.
