Cavaliers- "After many conversations with our doctors and Koby 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.
I have had chest pains and other troubling symptoms, compounded by a loss of sleep, throughout the year. Despite a battery of tests, there have been no conclusions as to what the exact issue is. While I have tried to work through it, the last thing I want is for it to affect the team. I am going to use this time to focus on a prescribed routine and medication, which has previously been difficult to start in the midst of a season. My goal is to come out of it a stronger and healthier version of myself so I can continue to lead this team to the Championship we are all working towards. I greatly appreciate Dan Gilbert, Koby Altman, our medical team and the organization's support throughout." - Tyronn Lue --------- All "LeBron is literally a coach killer" jokes aside, I think the NBA - as a whole - needs to hear the following. They might want to take both a seat and a deep breath because this might come as a shock to the entire association, but...it's just fucking basketball. I know, I know. It seems like so much more in the moment, but - despite what the overwhelmingly amount of media-driven scrutiny might lead you to believe - it really is just a game. Mental health is obviously a serious issue, but the fact that it looks as though it's running rampant through a particular sports league is more than a wee bit concerning. First it was DeMar DeRozan with depression, then Kevin Love with a full-blown anxiety attack, then Kelly Oubre's internal struggle, and now the head coach of a team who has been to three straight NBA Finals is suffering from the type of insomnia that leaves bags burning under his eyes as the morning light shines through? I mean, if there's anyone who would have reason to succumb to stress then it's the guy who was supervising a season of The Real Housewives before his entire roster got turned upside down and he was tasked with turning a group of castoffs into a formidable team in two months time. Like, perhaps this is the reason more organizations don't put an unforeseen amount of pressure on their coach by going full-NBA2K at the trade deadline. Still, I can't help but think we should install a reality checkpoint before these guys get to the breaking point where the pro sport they are involved is less hazardous to their health than the strain it puts on their psyche. I can totally understand why interactions like this might have a coach up all night pondering what the hell he did to deserve being made to look like a child that broke something while playing ball in the house by someone they are technically in charge of...
...but christ. If this isn't just the "nice way" of the Cavaliers bending over backwards to keep the the most needy superstar in the history of sports happy when he's on the verge of free agency (and it could absolutely be nothing more than that) then it's a sign that basketball is being taken far too seriously. That's apparently not the greatest of news for anyone associated with a player who is just nearly as destructive as he is dominant. Lives are more important than the sport they are involved in, but LeBron James - at least in part - is ruining the former by way of the latter.
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