Tyronn Lue Delivers Ominous Message Following Team’s Loss to Raptors

The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t had the best week. After losing by 28 points to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, the Cavs got throttled by 34 points to the short-handed Toronto Raptors on Thursday.

If getting decimated in back-to-back games didn’t irk the Cavs enough, head coach Tyronn Lue certainly provided the fire to make the team more urgent. After the blowout to the Raptors, Lue called out team for having agendas, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com:

“We’ve got to be better,” Lue said. “We know that. But until we play better defensively, I think offensively sharing the basketball, everyone on the same page — and if guys have agendas, we’ve got to get rid of our agendas and play the right way.”

When asked what he meant by “agendas,” the 40-year-old declined to expand and declared that his statement meant “just what [he] said.” It was an edgy comment for Lue to make, but a needed one after his team lost for the seventh time in the past 10 games. When the team’s best player, LeBron James, heard the remark, the superstar couldn’t understand if the comment was directed at him or not:

“I mean, I would hope not,” James said after losing by more than 25 points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. “I don’t [have an agenda]. At this point, three and a half, four years in this thing, I hope not. I don’t know. I don’t have one. I just want to win. I just like playing ball the right way, getting guys involved and winning the game also. I don’t.”

The losing direction could elicit changes for the Cavs, who appear to need some type of boost. Cavs reserve Channing Frye also commented on Lue’s tense words and the reality of being dealt:

“This is a business,” the veteran said. “Maybe it’s meant to be a wake-up call. My bags have been half-packed since I got here. This is meant to be a championship group. We have to understand, if we’re not helping move everything in a championship direction, there could be changes.”

Although it would rough to see players go, any team with James comes down to championship or bust. The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 8. Therefore, everyone should have their bags ready to go if they’re not competing hard. Whether it’s in the form of a trade or a response to Lue’s comments, the pressure on the Cavs to snap of out of their funk is at an all-time high.