CLEVELAND -- As the Cleveland Cavaliers' season comes to an end, the franchise enters the offseason facing no shortage of uncertainty.
LeBron James can opt out of his contract and become a free agent. Kevin Love's name is sure to be at the center of trade rumors. And after missing nine games toward the end of the regular season due to health issues -- and his roster now in flux -- head coach Tyronn Lue's status with the team appears unclear.
Following the Cavs' season-ending 108-85 defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night, Lue was asked about his future with the team. And while plenty, of course, can change in the coming weeks, if not months, Lue insisted that's it's his plan to remain with the Cavs.
"Yeah, I do," Lue answered when asked if he intended to return to Cleveland for the 2018-19 season. "I had some tough problems going on throughout the course of the season, and like you said, I probably could have folded myself, but I wasn't going to do that."
After missing portions and the entirety of some Cavs games throughout the season, Lue took a nine-game leave of absence as head coach in late-March. Just ahead of the NBA Finals, he revealed to ESPN's Rachel Nichols that he's since undergone treatment for anxiety, which he believes he has under control with a change of diet and the help of medication.
"I knew that even if I wasn't feeling a hundred percent, I had to get back for the playoffs," Lue said on Friday. "That's my time. That's my moment. I didn't want to put our coaches in that situation. I didn't want to put our players in that situation, and I had to fight through it. That's what champions do. I gave everything I had."
Should James leave the Cavs, sending the team into an inevitable rebuilding phase, perhaps Lue's stance will change. But for now, unless Dan Gilbert determines otherwise, head coach is one position Cleveland can feel certain about moving forward.
