- Oct 22, 2012
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starbury really making it out there in china. crazy where lifes journey takes people.
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"I just know when I first had a chance to meet Kobe and Shaq, just being in awe," Lue said in an hour-long interview last week at the Cavaliers' suburban training complex. "Basketball is all I know. It wasn't real. Coming from a small town of Mexico, Missouri, we got 11,000 people. Never seen a celebrity."
Lue generally eschewed the Hollywood scene and often spent his down time shopping at the Fox Hills Mall.
"Shaq made the rookies go out with him," Lue said. "So I went out, but I just never got involved or engaged in none of the drinking or smoking. That wasn't my thing.
"You know, for me, it was always a thing of being a lower-level NBA player. Like, it just didn't look right for me hanging with Shaq. Or to hang with Kobe, or Eddie Murphy, whoever. I'm not on that scale. It just didn't seem right."
That was Lue as a player: confident but humble.
Yet with his cherubic face and charm, he was also a social magnet, earning the nickname "Lue Hefner"—a phrase that now makes him cringe sheepishly.
"He was young, and all the pretty girls loved him," Shaw said.
Not everyone welcomed the jokes. Shaw recalled Lue zinging one-liners at the notoriously volatile Isaiah Rider, who grew more tense as the rest of the Lakers buckled over in laughter.
"If I was your size, I'd whup your ***," Rider fired back, though the situation never escalated.
When Lue did get physical once—with none other than O'Neal—it was in defense of another teammate. As Shaw tells it, the Lakers had just lost to the San Antonio Spurs, and Devean George had made a key mistake down the stretch, sending O'Neal into a rage.
"Shaq was standing over Devean's locker and he was physically beating Devean up," Shaw recalled.
"I said, 'Man, what are you doing? He's a young player. He made mistakes. But that's not why we lost the game.' I said, 'If you would have used some of that energy that you're using pushing him around and boxed out Malik Rose, he wouldn't have gotten 10 offensive rebounds against us, and maybe we would have won the game because of that.'"
At that point, O'Neal let go of George and charged at Shaw, who dropped and grabbed O'Neal by the legs.
"He was dragging me around the locker room," Shaw said. "The only one who came to my rescue was Ty Lue. He got in between us and was like, 'Get off of him.' And he defended what was right."
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...t-cavs-can-take-a-few-lessons-from-tyronn-lue"Iverson making it to the Finals really saved my career," Lue said. "Without Iverson, there probably wouldn't be me."
In June 2001, Lue was a seldom-used backup guard who had been squeezed out of the rotation by Rider and three-point specialist Mike Penberthy. He was 24 years old and about to enter free agency. He was worried about his future.
In those days, teams had to set their playoff rosters before the postseason began. Lue expected to be left off, which would have likely spelled the end of his Lakers tenure.
The room erupted in delight when Phil Jackson announced Lue's name on the day rosters were finalized—"an unbelievable feeling," Lue said.
The expectation of a showdown with Iverson figured heavily into the decision. The Lakers were stocked with veteran guards like Bryant, Shaw, Ron Harper and Derek Fisher, but they needed a quick, feisty defender to check Iverson if Philadelphia won the East.
When the 76ers knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, Lue's role in the Finals was assured.
"If Milwaukee would have beat Philly, I wouldn't have played," Lue said. "So that could have possibly been my last year in the NBA. People don't understand that."
@Chris_Reichert Confirmed with multiple league sources -- Jesse Mermuys (Raptors 905 HC in 15/16) will join Luke Walton's staff in Los Angeles #NBADL
Simmons refused to work out with the Sixers?
Probably like 25-30 wins. Team would be reeeeeeeally young. And young teams lose, a lot.If we sign Whiteside and draft Ingram, how many games do you think we would win? I'm thinking in the range of 33 to 38
C - Whiteside
PF - Randle
SF - Ingram
SG - Clarkson
PG - Russell
Chad Ford must be smokingIngram really skinny as ****
Chad Ford
chad ford hanging out with bill simmons too muchThat is a terrible trade. Chad Ford must be a Celtics fan.