New Orleans Pelicans: Top 3 remaining coach choices with Doc Rivers out

New Orleans Pelicans coaching search: Tyronn Lue

Tyronn Lue

Lue comes in at number three even though many think he is the top available candidate. Lue has won a title, players like him and his coaching has mostly been evaluated favorably.

Of course, his one title came after he had coached the team for only half a season and did I mention that team had LeBron James on it?

Lue made it back to the Finals twice, losing both, before getting fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He lost to the Warriors, which is nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s hard to take too much away from those runs, as his teams always had LeBron, which is like having a second head coach.

As soon as LeBron left, Lue wasn’t far behind, so it’s not like he has a strong history of winning, other than teams that had one of the greatest players of all time running the show.

Lue was often faulted for being unprepared in the regular season but then given loads of credit for his chess moves in the playoffs. He used a ton of different lineups and adjusted on the fly, which is much easier to do when you have a Swiss Army knife named LeBron.

This young Pelicans team would likely embrace Lue, as he is a likable coach that the players like, but is he the right guy? I’m skeptical of anyone who has coached LeBron, especially when he has no other head coaching experience.

Lue has been learning under Doc Rivers in Los Angeles, which is also a problem, as Lue might be eyeballing Doc’s old job. Will the Pelicans waste even more time interviewing a guy who doesn’t want to be in New Orleans?

If Lue wanted the Pels’ job it seems he would already have it, which is why I am hoping the Pelicans go for someone else. Personally, I’d rather have someone who viewed this as the ideal job and not their fallback spot if the LA gigs don’t work out.