CLEVELAND (AP) – Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue is taking a leave of absence from the team to address health issues that have included chest pains and loss of sleep.
Lue said Monday in statement that tests have offered no conclusion about what the issue is, but he feels he needs to step away “and focus on trying to establish a stronger and healthier foundation” from which to coach the rest of the season.
Lue spent the second half of Cleveland’s victory in Chicago on Saturday in the locker room because of an illness, the second time this season he left a game because he wasn’t feeling well. The former NBA guard also sat one out against Chicago at home in December.
He says he will use a “prescribed routine and medication, which has previously been difficult to start in the midst of a season.”
Charlotte coach Steve Clifford also left his team to address his health this season.
In a statement Lue said:
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.”