Tyronn Lue is saving a spot on his coaching staff for veteran big man Kendrick Perkins should he so desire it.
The Cleveland Cavaliers head coach said this week that Perkins, who was invited to training camp with the team but was ultimately waived in the final round of roster cuts on Saturday, has an offer to join his staff.
“We’ve already talked about that,” said Lue, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. “I think Perk was great because he holds everybody accountable. He plays the right way, tries to do the right thing every single day.
“You need a guy like that around,” Lue continued. “A guy who’s going to be the right person for the team, not worrying about himself, not being caught up in all his own personal things and will help the team out in any way he can.”
The 32-year-old Perkins, who previously was with the Cavs for a brief part of the 2014-15 season, is also familiar with Lue from his time playing with the Boston Celtics, where Lue was an assistant coach. Lue has tried in the past to lure other former Celtics to his staff as well.
As for Perkins, he still wants to play, but a player of his skillset doesn’t exactly have much on-court value these days. Thus, it might be time to leverage his leadership skills into a coaching position.
