Tyronn Lue on Kawhi Leonard dealing with injuries: There’s been nights he’s almost crying talking about how he let the team down

If Tyronn Lue is chosen as coach for USA Basketball’s next men’s national team, he may get to do something no coach has ever done: Host an Olympic basketball tournament at his office. Lue’s day job, you may know, is to coach the LA Clippers, where he is under contract through the 2028-29 season for about $70 million and has yet to have a losing season. The Clippers opened the $2 billion Intuit Dome this year, a stunning, state-of-the-art, crown jewel of a basketball arena in Inglewood, Calif., Steve Ballmer’s version of AT&T; Stadium (aka Jerry World) outside of Dallas. Intuit just happens to be the chosen arena for Olympic basketball when Los Angeles hosts the Summer Games in four years. “Yeah, it sounds amazing,” Lue said. “To be the Olympic head coach in this building, of course, everybody would look at that as a cool opportunity, but there’s a lot that goes into it. To be chosen to do that is an honor and a blessing, but it’s not something I’m hanging my hat on because it’s two years away and Erik Spoelstra was involved in USA Basketball before I even got here.” -via New York Times / December 5, 2024