If Jason Kidd become a head coach, you wouldn’t surprise. If Steve Nash become a head coach, you wouldn’t surprise. If Rajon Rondo become a head coach, you wouldn’t surprise. Because they have proved themselves to be great PG, showed the talentto lead a team. But Tyronn Lue? You would surprise a lot.
What is the main impress of Tyronn Lue for most of the NBA fans? The first would be the sense he was step over by Iverson, the second one would be coach LeBron James and won the Champion in Cleveland Cavaliers at 2016. None of them can show that Tyronn has the talent as a coach. The first one showed him not an excellent NBA player, the second could not prove that he is good coach, because LeBron can bring the team to the NBA finals anyway.
Did we missed anything? Let’s review Tyronn Lue’s career as a player, see if we can find any clue.
From 1998 to 2009 as a player, 11 years in 8 teams, longest time in one team. The best year, as a game start point guard, get 5.4 assist and 13.5 score. His total 11 years salary is $21,382,580. None of these data can tell he was a excellent player.
What about the career as coach? 2011~2013, assist coach in BOS, 2013~2014 assist coach in LAC, 2014~2015 assist coach in CLE, and become the head coach in the middle of the season, and won the championship in that year. Them get fired in 2018 for 0-6 start. Later he went to the LAC as an assist coach. To win a championship as a head coach, most of the people would say he is just lucky to have LeBron James, and gave him the rumors that how he coach the CLE, just give the ball to James.
Of this kind career, both play and coach, normal people would doubt his capability to be a head coach, but the Lawrence Frank and Steve Ballmer sees different. Here is how Lawrence Frank introduced Tyronn: his is a thinker, a connector, he’s a dynamic leader who lifts you even challenge you… sometimes the best just sit right in front of you. He is the best of the best.
「We had to get the best of the best, and the best of the best is Ty Lue,」 Ballmer said.
With this discrepancy, I looked very closely to the press conference, review how Tyronn Lue response the questions and plans. I got two shinning characters from him, which would help him became a good coach.
First is the learning spirit, keep improving spirit. Lue said that he felt rejuvenated now, nearly two years after he was last a head coach. Physically, he lost nearly 35 pounds. Mentally, he used the time to study the league and other coaches to learn 「how I can be better,」 saying he was in 「constant dialogue」 with Boston’s Brad Stevens, Dallas』 Rick Carlisle, Golden State’s Steve Kerr and Rivers, of course.
These words indicate Ty is a man never gives up. And make me think how he spent these year from a regular player to a good coach, he must tried so hard to improve himself. And his unsuccessful player career gave him opportunities to learn from and observe a lots of great players and coaches. He have played with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O』Neal and Michael Jordan, even Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard, he got enough experience to get along with the supper stars. This would help him a lot to coach the two supper start PG and Kwawhi
The second is that he is very humble. When he was asked why he choose to coach the Clippers, he said: it wasn’t I choose the Clippers, it was Clippers chose me. People normally would follow the question, just explain how he ends up to be the head coach of the Clippers, but he point out at the beginning that he was very lucky to be chose to be the head coach of the clippers
With these two characters, and people think he is a good leader, connecter, I feel that he can become an excellent head coach. But this would be enough to be a legend coach. Because he have to have some talent and achievement to be legend, yet we haven’t seen
Anyway, he has became the head coach of the Clippers, of two supper star George Paul and Leonard Kwawhi. Surprise!
He is a person from ashes, from failures, even the most highlight time of him is his moment, stepping over by Iverson. And he fought so hard to get this opportunity, to guard Iverson because his quick knee
Maybe, Lue is the kind of person, you won’t value him so much at the first sight, but as more time you get along with, you will find his sparks with time, and this might explain that I was promoted twice to the head coach from an assist coach.
Good luck, Lue! You have challenges ahead, it won’t be easy next year, and Clippers is on the verge of the collapse, win is the only way out.
Player Data:
Season
Age
Tm
AST
STL
PF
PTS
1998-99
21
LAL
1.7
0.3
1.9
5.0
1999-00
22
LAL
2.1
0.4
2.1
6.0
2000-01
23
LAL
1.2
0.5
1.4
3.4
2001-02
24
WAS
3.5
0.7
1.7
7.8
2002-03
25
WAS
3.5
0.6
2.0
8.6
2003-04
26
ORL
4.2
0.8
2.4
10.5
2004-05
27
TOT
4.6
0.5
2.4
11.2
2004-05
27
HOU
2.8
0.4
2.3
6.0
2004-05
27
ATL
5.4
0.5
2.4
13.5
2005-06
28
ATL
3.1
0.5
2.2
11.0
2006-07
29
ATL
3.6
0.4
1.8
11.4
2007-08
30
TOT
1.5
0.2
1.3
5.8
2007-08
30
ATL
1.8
0.3
1.2
6.8
2007-08
30
DAL
0.9
0.0
1.6
3.8
2008-09
31
TOT
1.4
0.2
1.2
4.2
2008-09
31
MIL
1.5
0.2
1.4
4.7
2008-09
31
ORL
1.0
0.1
0.9
3.0
Salaries
Season
Team
Lg
Salary
1998-99
Los Angeles Lakers
NBA
$287,500
1999-00
Los Angeles Lakers
NBA
$809,280
2000-01
Los Angeles Lakers
NBA
$865,800
2001-02
Washington Wizards
NBA
$1,700,000
2002-03
Washington Wizards
NBA
$1,870,000
2003-04
Orlando Magic
NBA
$1,500,000
2004-05
Houston Rockets
NBA
$1,600,000
2005-06
Atlanta Hawks
NBA
$3,500,000
2006-07
Atlanta Hawks
NBA
$3,500,000
2007-08
Sacramento Kings
NBA
$3,500,000
2008-09
Orlando Magic
NBA
$2,250,000
Career
(may be incomplete)
$21,382,580