Tyronn Lue realizes that coaching the Eastern Conference All-Star team isn’t exactly something he has earned, so he wanted his predecessor to have that honor. But the league likely will not allow it.
Speaking with the media on Saturday, Lue shared his stance.
“I talked to P.J. Carlesimo about it this morning and I told him I think Coach Blatt should coach it,” Lue said via Cleveland.com’s Chris B. Haynes. “The NBA has been trying to work around some different things for the All-Star Game and he’s done a great job here. We’re first in the East and I think it would be sweet if Coach Blatt could coach the All-Star Game one last time.”
League rules call for the coach of the team with the best record in each league as of Jan. 31 to serve as an All-Star Game head coach. The Cavs have the best record in the East, meaning their coach will get the honor. At the moment, that is Lue, who replaced Blatt on Friday.
Unfortunately, despite Lue’s noble idea, the league will not allow it.
Nice gesture by Tyronn Lue, but league source says David Blatt will not be able to coach the All-Star game. "He's not a coach in the league"
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 23, 2016
If Lue plans on making good on his word to outdo Blatt, then he should feel confident coaching the All-Star team. He may only have around 11 games of head coaching experience at the time, though, which would make things somewhat awkward.
