After his playing career ended in 2009, Lue became Director of Basketball Development for the Boston Celtics. Â In 2014, he was hired by the Cavaliers as associate head coach and was promoted to head coach midseason in 2015-16, replacing the fired David Blatt. Â That same season, Lue led the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship and became one of the few rookie coaches in the NBA to ever lead his team to a title.
Lue opted for early entry into the 1998 NBA Draft. He was selected 23rd overall by the Denver Nuggets but was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers with Tony Battie in exchange for Nick Van Exel. His first three years with the Lakers were disappointing. His playing time was limited and he suffered from injuries in 2000. However, Lue excelled in the 2001 playoffs. Due to his quickness, he was specifically used to guard Allen Iverson during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Lakers would lose Game 1, but would sweep the next four games and go on to get a 4–1 series victory over Iverson’s 76ers, giving them the second of three consecutive titles.
On October 23, 2009, Boston named Lue director of basketball development, under the Great Doc Rivers, Then, Head Coach Of The Boston Celtics. In July 2013, he was re-hired by the President and Head Coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, Doc Rivers, joining the Los Angeles Clippers‘ coaching staff.
On June 23, 2014, Lue joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as their new associate head coach, making him the highest paid assistant coach in the NBA in the process. Lue had been a top candidate for the Cavs’ head coaching job, which eventually went to David Blatt.
On January 22, 2016, Lue was named head coach of the Cavaliers immediately following the mid-season firing of Blatt. The contract was for three years.
On May 19, 2016, the Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, continuing their unbeaten streak in the 2016 playoffs and making Lue the first coach in NBA history to win his first 10 postseason games. Eight days later, Lue would end up making it to the NBA Finals in his first year of coaching, thus being one of the few coaches to ever make it to the NBA Finals after replacing a head coach during the regular season. On June 19, 2016, the Cavaliers won their first NBA Championship with Lue becoming the second rookie coach for consecutive seasons to win it all, as well as the first to do it while replacing someone else in the middle of the season. He became the 14th person to win an NBA championship as a head coach and player.
