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Cleveland Cavaliers associate head coach Larry Drew applauds his team as he takes control after Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue failed to return to the court in the second half of the NBA basketball game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, USA, 17 March 2018. EPA/TANNEN MAURY SHUTTERSTOCK OUT
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Larry Drew to replace Tyronn Lue on Cavs’ bench

Interim coach has been a head coach with Hawks and Bucks

Martenzie Johnson @10zJohnson
Topics:
NBA LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue

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    4:44 PMThe Cleveland Cavaliers announced on Monday that head coach Tyronn Lue will “step back from coaching for the time being” to focus on his personal health, leaving the team in the hands of assistant coach Larry Drew.

    Drew, 59, was hired by the Cavaliers in 2014 to serve under then-head coach David Blatt just weeks after LeBron James returned to the franchise after four seasons with the Miami Heat. Previously, Drew had served as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks (2010-13) and Milwaukee Bucks (2013-14) and was an assistant for nearly 20 years with the then-New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.

    In three years in Atlanta, Drew averaged 42 wins a season and made the playoffs each year, advancing to the conference semifinals in 2011. After a second consecutive first-round playoff exit in 2013, the Hawks elected to not renew Drew’s contract and he was replaced by one of his assistants, Mike Budenholzer. Drew signed a three-year contract with the Bucks the following season, but after a league-worst 15-67 record (which netted the No. 2 overall draft pick that eventually became Jabari Parker) during Giannis Antetokounmpo’s rookie campaign and a failed coup by Jason Kidd with the Brooklyn Nets, Drew was fired after just one season and replaced with Kidd.

    Before getting into coaching, Drew was selected 17th overall out of Missouri by the Detroit Pistons in the 1980 NBA draft. He spent 10 seasons in the league with the Pistons, Lakers and Kansas City/Sacramento Kings, where during the 1982-83 season he averaged a team-high 20.1 points and 8.1 assists per game.

    Drew has three sons who also play basketball. Larry Drew II is a guard with the New Orleans Pelicans, Landon Drew spent four seasons at Cal State Northridge and Lindsey Drew is a junior forward for Nevada, which is set to play Loyola Chicago in the Sweet 16 of the men’s basketball tournament on Thursday.

    Martenzie Johnson is a senior writer for Andscape. His favorite cinematic moment is when Django said, "Y'all want to see somethin?"