National Basketball Association

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue says Kevin Garnett could join his coaching staff

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:02 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

Tim Duncan might not be the only recently-retired NBA big man who will still be in a gym this season.

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters on Thursday that Kevin Garnett, who announced his retirement last week, is welcome to take a spot on his coaching staff if he's so inclined. Even better: Garnett's wife is reportedly pushing for him to accept Lue's offer.

Via Cleveland.com:

The jokes practically write themselves, with KG finding LeBron deep in the bowels of the Q just to bark weird trash-talk in his direction as a motivational tactic or making Tristan Thompson cry with some constructive feedback. "Why didn't you block that shot, big man?" "He was on the other side of the court. I can't get over there in time." "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! NOW RUN TO ONTARIO AND BACK WHILE CARRYING THESE OVERSIZED BACKPACKS FILLED WITH WOLVERINES I HAVEN'T FED IN TWO DAYS."

Once we get past the snark, though, this is really a great idea. Garnett was practically a player-coach for the Wolves last season anyway, helping mentor rookie phenom Karl-Anthony Towns. KG and LeBron had their tense playoff battles, of course, but that was ages ago in NBA terms. Who even remembers 2012 these days?

Ty Lue said Kevin Garnett will attend #Cavs ring ceremony on opening night.
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) September 29, 2016

Garnett could help Thompson become a better defender, and he might even be able to convince J.R. Smith to finally sign his contract and put a shirt on. The season starts in less than a month, Earl. Let's get down to business.