Tyronn Lue says the hardest part about coaching the Cavs is dealing with the media

Tyronn Lue called coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers “the hardest job, by far.”

Even with a roster that has tapped its payroll to feature the best basketball player on the planet and two additional All-Stars, Lue conceded he faces issues no other coach in the league has to deal with on ESPN’s NBA Lockdown Podcast.

Many of those challenges, he said, come from learning to ignore the outside noise. Lue said he understands now that reporters have jobs to do: They have to write a story or sell a book. He gets it.

“But it’s just, I don’t like it when they make stuff up,” he said. “If I didn’t do a good job or I didn’t do something [correctly], then I understand that. That’s your job. You got to write it. But when you make stuff up, that’s the part that I don’t get that kind of makes me mad.”

Lue received public scrutiny for his decisions to rest LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love at multiple points throughout the season. He also chose to sit Irving and Love during the Cavaliers’ 26-point comeback in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, a move that wasn’t received well by several news outlets, according to ESPN.

“I don’t like the media attention. That’s why this job is just so tough because you’re out in front all the time,” Lue said. “It’s tough because whatever you say, if you say one wrong thing — especially leading this team — it goes viral. It’s a big deal.

“That’s why I know that the media has to do what they have to do, because when you rest him, they cry, ‘Oh, he should play! [Michael] Jordan would never sit!’ And then you play him 42 minutes: ‘He’s playing too much!’ Like, what? So if you don’t play, you mad. If you play too much, you mad. ... And I’ve come to the realization that it is what it is. That’s why I just try to tune the outside noise out.”

Regardless of his challenges, Lue coached Cleveland to a 51-31 record, tied with the Raptors for second-best in the East and trailing only the top-seeded Boston Celtics. The Cavaliers swept the Pacers in the first round and dispatched the Raptors in Game 1 of the second round, 116-105.

Cleveland is the prohibitive favorite to emerge as Eastern Conference champions and make a third consecutive NBA Finals appearance. So Lue’s issues, while very real in his world, are relative when compared to other coaches who may be on the hot seat across the league.