Doc Rivers Praises Ty Lue, I'd Hire Him

Ty Lue is getting some love from the Rivers family -- Doc and Austin -- with Doc even saying he'd be down to hire the fired Cavs coach if he doesn't land on his feet.

Lue got his walking papers from Cleveland this weekend after a 0-6 start -- but a lot of people around the league think he got done dirty.

So, when we saw Doc and Austin at Craig's Sunday night, we asked how they felt about Lue.

Austin's never played for Ty but says he's got a ton of respect for him -- based on what he's seen and heard from other big stars in the league.

"Ty's a great dude. He's a good coach," Austin said ... "Whoever gets him will be lucky."

He added, "Heard a lot of great things about him so I think he'll be fine."

By the way, Austin and the Washington Wizards were in town to play the Clippers, coached by his father, Doc.