LAS VEGAS – New Clippers coach Doc Rivers was in the bleachers for his team's first summer league game, on Friday against the Hawks. He left Las Vegas afterwards, however, his team in the hands of assistant coach Tyronn Lue for the duration of the week.
Such is the norm at summer league, where most head coaches entrust their teams to assistants or even player development coaches. It's as much a chance for them to learn as it is for the young players, and Lue is no stranger to summer league duties; he led the Celtics' teams in Orlando and Las Vegas in 2012.
A former journeyman point guard, Lue played 11 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 2009. He spent the past four years as a Celtics assistant under Rivers before moving with him to Los Angeles and assuming his duties in Las Vegas. When the season begins, you’ll see Lue on Rivers’ bench with the Clippers.
Now, here's 10 things you (possibly) didn’t know about the man pacing the Clippers sidelines this week in Las Vegas:
Cornhusker
Lue was born in Raytown, Mo., just southwest of Kansas City. He attended college at the University of Nebraska, where he finished with the third-most assists in school history despite leaving after his junior season.
Journeyman
After being drafted by Denver and traded immediately to the Lakers, Lue played for seven NBA teams over the course of his career: the Lakers, Wizards, Magic, Rockets, Hawks, Mavericks and Bucks. He played for Rivers for 11 games in 2003-04 in Orlando, before Rivers was fired.
Locker room guy
In 2001, Lue made the Lakers' playoff roster and excelled. Coach Phil Jackson explained his decision to include Lue in the postseason USA Today: "Ty is… a real good team player, a good locker room kid and is a gym rat. So I opted to go with that. There are so many skills that are important in basketball, but hustling and aggressiveness and defense and all those things, which Ty Lue has, come to the forefront, and it's necessary for coaches to have those kinds of players."
On a diet
According to a 2002 Washington Post story, Lue used to be a "raging junk food addict." It was an okay habit early in his career, but when he joined the Wizards and finally saw consistent playing time in 2001-02, Lue's eating habits caught up with him. Eventually, he overhauled his diet, and finished that first season in Washington playing more than 20 minutes per game and scoring an average of 7.8 points, more than twice his scoring contribution of the year before.
Time with M.J.
Lue was a teammate of Michael Jordan’s during M.J.'s ill-fated comeback in Washington from 2001-03.
Tips from the Zen Master
Lue has obviously learned much of his coaching philosophy from Rivers, but his former coach in Los Angeles also left an impression. "Phil Jackson, he was harder on Kobe and Shaq, and then it trickled down to the rest of us," Lue said of the approach he saw in terms of dealing with superstars, which may come in handy this season with the Clippers.
Learning experience
Coaching summer league isn't just a vacation in Las Vegas for the 36-year-old. "It's harder than I thought it was," he said. "It's hard, but I'm getting the hang of it. It's a learning experience every day."
Still a student
Lue says that Rivers has critiqued him as a coach throughout his two summer league experiences as much as he’s critiqued the players on the teams.
The love of the game
Lue wants to be an NBA head coach someday, even though he had no interest in doing so when he retired. "I was just going to take a couple years off and just relax and enjoy life," Lue said. "(My friends) were like, 'Once you get out of the game, it's hard to get back in.'" Lue listened, and he called Rivers, who quickly had a job for him.
Transition from player to coach
Although he went straight from playing to coaching, Lue doesn’t downplay the difficulty of the transition. He said that for his first two seasons in Boston, Rivers let him ease into the role of coach. He told Lue he should just enjoy the role, see how he liked it and "get the player out" of him.
