“It’s kind of funny,” Lue said. “You have all these different coaches and the terminology is so different. We might call a double drag ‘77’ or ‘delay,’ Steve calls it ‘open,’ Mark calls it ‘zoom’ … it’s all the same action. We just find ourselves laughing more times than not, but when guys are talking, guys are really listening. There’s a lot of respect around that room.”
The players are the on-court stars. The coaches might be the rock stars. And there are far more people involved than just Kerr and his assistants. Jeff Van Gundy is helping run the scouting, the highly regarded Chip Engelland is with the team to aid with shooting, a Basketball Hall of Famer in Grant Hill is the managing director and longtime USA Basketball executive Sean Ford — who past U.S. coaches like Mike Krzyzewski and Gregg Popovich still rave about — might know as much about the FIBA game as anyone.
“One of the best things about USA Basketball, and it’s true whether you’re a player or whether you’re a staff member, is it’s about the program,” Spoelstra said. “And it’s about sacrificing, it’s about being a part of it and doing whatever we need to do collectively to come back with gold. I’ve admired Steve for a long time, and how he conducts himself and his sustained success. I’ve really admired Ty Lue and his journey and the success that he’s had and how he operates. And Mark and I go way back … two guys from Oregon, and it’s been great to reconnect.”

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