Erik Spoelstra and Ty Lue could replace Steve Kerr as Team USA basketball coaches, according to report

While the excitement of winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics has still not subsided for Team USA, planning for the 2028 Olympics has already begun. We have already heard USA Basketball director Grant Hill talk about Finals MVP Jaylen Brown. will be considered for the ’28 Games in Los Angeles, and Marc Stein has reported that Joel Embiid is considering playing for his birth country Cameroon for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics If They have received approval from both FIBA ​​and USAB.

But beyond the roster, there are also discussions about who will be the next head coach of the men’s national team, as Kerr’s tenure is expected to end after the Paris Games. According to Stein, Team USA will choose between Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue.

Kerr said in November that he has no plans to coach the national team after the 2024 Olympics, as he views it as a two-year commitment.

“For me, it’s two years; it’s one cycle,” Kerr said, via The Athletic. “Pop coached a World Cup and the Olympics, now it’s my turn to pass the baton. I think that’s the way it should be. To be honest, it’s a huge commitment, too. I think it was different last time with Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) and Jerry (Colangelo), when they were really setting up this culture and this system where guys had to commit for a couple of years. It makes sense for Coach K to stay. But I think where we are right now, one cycle and you move on.”

Spoelstra and Lue both served as assistant coaches under Kerr at the Paris Games, and were on the staff of the fourth-place FIBA ​​World Cup team in 2023. Spoelstra also served as head coach of the 2021 Select Team, which trained with the men’s national team for the Tokyo Olympics.

Both coaches have plenty of championship experience. Spoelstra has won two championships with the Heat and has been to the NBA Finals six times overall. Lue has been to the NBA Finals three times and won one title with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both coaches have been among the league’s winningest coaches over the past decade and are well respected in the NBA.

The first thing on the list of whoever is named as the next head coach will be the 2027 FIBA ​​World Cup. Team USA has performed poorly in each of the last two World Cup competitions, finishing fourth in 2023 and a shocking seventh in 2019. Bringing in the biggest names to compete for the World Cup has always been a problem for Team USA, which is why the Americans struggle in the competition, and 2027 will certainly be no different. Anthony Edwards has already declined to compete in the tournament, and he likely won’t be the only young star who won’t consider it. But whoever is on the roster, it will be up to Spoelstra or Lue to get the most out of the players and try to improve on the shortcomings of the last World Cup.