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Three days after the Cleveland Cavaliers decided against hiring Tyronn Lue as head coach, they chose the Nebraska basketball Hall of Famer as associate head coach.

Strange move? At first glance, yes — for both parties.

Dig deeper, though, and it’s a crafty maneuver for the Cavaliers and a smart play for Lue in his drive to become an NBA head coach.

Along the way, Husker hoops gets to bask in some of the spotlight the All-Big 12 point guard and first-round NBA pick has attracted to his alma mater. On Monday, Yahoo Sports NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski wrote: “Lue has developed into one of the NBA’s most well-regarded young head-coaching prospects.’’

What Lue brings to the Cavs is balance in combination with new head coach David Blatt.

Blatt is 55. Lue is 37. Blatt is white. Lue is black. Blatt grew up in Massachusetts and played at Princeton, but has spent his 33-year playing and coaching career overseas.

Lue played 11 years in the NBA, won two titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and has spent the past five seasons learning under highly respected coach Doc Rivers with Boston and the L.A. Clippers.

Yet there is an under-reported key to this transaction.