Kerr offers support for Cavs’ ailing coach
SAN ANTONIO — After shootaround Monday morning at AT&T Center, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr offered support for Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue, who has taken a leave of absence to address his health.
“Health is everything,” Kerr said. “This game is fun and it’s exciting, and we all love our jobs. But we just want to be healthy.”
Lue, 40, announced Monday in a team-issued statement, “After many conversations with our doctors and (general manager) Koby (Altman) and much thought given to what is best for the team and my health, I need to step back from coaching for the time being and focus on trying to establish a stronger and healthier foundation from which to coach for the rest of the season.”
The news came two days after Lue left Saturday night’s 114-109 win over Chicago with an illness, the third time this season that his health has prevented him from coaching a whole game. Lue has dealt with chest pains and sleep deprivation, but a battery of tests has yet to reveal the cause of his issues.
He hopes that, after overhauling his health with a new personal chef, regular exercise, rest and medication, he’ll return to the sideline well before the playoffs. Cleveland (41-29) is third in the Eastern Conference standings, but just 3½ games ahead of seventh-seeded Miami and four ahead of eighth-seeded Milwaukee.
“It’s hard,” said Kerr, who has been in contact with Lue in recent days. “No matter how you slice it, it’s difficult when you’re dealing with that stuff and you have to do what’s best for the team. You try to sort things out over whatever your own situation is. It’s not easy.”
Kerr knows firsthand how difficult it is to step away from the bench for health reasons. For more than two years, he has endured the aftermath from a back surgery that resulted in a spinal-fluid leak. Kerr missed half of the 2015-16 season and 11 games during the 2017 playoffs to seek an answer to his pain.
“I think sleep is a big deal,” Kerr said. “It’s one of the reasons we tailor our schedule when we travel to letting the guys sleep in. Coaches need sleep, too. I know there’s a lot of recovery that goes on when you’re resting, and you need that.” Award nomination: The Warriors have been nominated by the SportsBusiness Journal/ Daily for “Sports Team of the Year.”
Golden State won the award in 2014 and 2016, and it was a finalist in 2017. In 2016, majority owner Joe Lacob was named Sports Executive of the Year.
Other nominees for 2018 Sports Team of the Year include Atlanta United FC of MLS, baseball’s Houston Astros, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, and the Vegas Golden Knights and Nashville Predators of the NHL. The winner will be announced on May 23 in New York.