No one likes hearing harsh truths, but sometimes it’s necessary, especially in sports where improvement is a constant process. For head coaches, it’s a fine line to tread between being honest and spoiling the morale of a player, and Tyronn Lue has learned to manage that over the years. He credits this to observing how Brian Shaw dealt with Kobe Bryant back in the day.
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Lue was selected 23rd by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998, when both Shaw and Bryant were on the team. Even Bryant was still new to the NBA at the time, having joined in 1996. Although he was one of the most exciting young talents in the league, he wasn’t quite the ‘alpha’ yet.
Bryant, like everyone else, made mistakes. But instead of just accepting them or shouldering the blame, Shaw, who had been in the NBA for a decade, would call the Mamba out. Of course, it led to clashes, but it was necessary. Lue later applied the same mantra when he was an assistant with the Boston Celtics and had to deal with one of the most intense players in NBA history.
In an interview with Shannon Sharpe, the current Los Angeles Clippers head coach spoke about Shaw and Bryant, and then about Kevin Garnett and how he earned his trust. Sharpe asked Lue what strategy he uses while holding players accountable for the mistakes they made, and he took a trip down memory lane.
“I learned from B-Shaw from my second year in the league,” Lue began. “He told me, tell the truth. Like just seeing him tell Kobe and Shaq the truth when they mess up… B-Shaw did it every single time, and I’m just looking at him and he’s like, man, you just gotta be able to tell the truth.”
When Lue hung up his sneakers and traded them for a suit before joining the technical area in Boston in 2011, he remembered what Shaw told him. And that was important, because Garnett was a Celtic, and he wasn’t easy to handle. Like Bryant, he was ultra-competitive. But add venomous trash-talking to the mix, and you get Garnett.
Lue revealed how, when KG would foul someone and throw a fit, other coaches would reassure him that he was innocent. But in reality, if he wasn’t, Lue would be honest. “He would cuss me out or whatever, and then, like, three minutes later, ‘Lue, give me a dap’ or whatever,” Lue added, much to Sharpe’s amusement.
“You just gotta tell the truth. People respect the truth. Whether they like it at that point or not, if you’re real with yourself, two days later, they come back and say, ‘Shannon, you was right, I was wrong,'” the 2016 championship winner continued.
Since his days as a player and then an assistant, Lue has come a long way. He’s played alongside stars and later managed them on big teams, including the 2016 Cavaliers, with whom he won a championship. He built a strong relationship with LeBron James, arguably the greatest player of all time, and learned how to handle superstar dynamics.
Shaw’s advice came in handy, and Lue has always held it close. Shaw remains close to him as well, now serving on the Clippers’ technical staff with Lue in charge.
