Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has undoubtedly been one of the most talented players in the league for multiple years now. Yet, his bumpy track record with head coaches continues to be a stain on his resume and fuel a “coach-killer” perception. After the Nets and Kenny Atkinson parted ways in early March and Jacque Vaughn briefly stepped in as interim head coach, it marked the seventh head coach the 27-year-old has had in his nine NBA seasons.
Of course, Kyrie found his greatest success while playing under Tyronn Lue from 2016-2017, a run that included consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and a 2016 NBA championship. Now, Lue—in his first season as an assistant coach for Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers—believes his history with Irving renders him as the ideal person to succeed Atkinson in Brooklyn.
In a new report from Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Lue is hoping for a reunion with Irving in Brooklyn. If general manager Sean Marks and Nets management takes its superstars' coaching preferences into strong consideration—which you'd expect they will, considering Atkinson's departure seemed to be driven by a disconnect with Irving and Durant—Lue could get his wish.
“Tyronn Lue wants another chance to coach Kyrie Irving.
The former Cavaliers coach is, in fact, interested in the Nets gig, according to a source, following a Yahoo! report that Irving prefers Lue on Brooklyn’s sideline.”
According to Yahoo!'s Vincent Goodwill, Irving (and Durant) soured on Atkinson early, and Lue has been Irving's top choice to for the gig.
Irving played in just 20 games in his debut season in Brooklyn, which he forced to cut short in February due to a need for shoulder surgery.
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