Tyronn Lue recently wrapped up his fourth season as head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. After finishing the 2023-24 regular season with 51 wins, the most under Lue, the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
But Lue appeared to remain highly respected within the Clippers organization.
Shortly after the Clippers lost to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the opening round, Lue spoke about his strong relationship with Clippers ownership and the front office.
“They’ve all been great to me,” he said. “This is where I want to be, and, hopefully, they feel the same way.”
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Head coach Tyronn Lue of the LA Clippers is interviewed after Game 1 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks April 21, 2024, at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
It appears Lue will be with the Clippers for the foreseeable future after agreeing to a five-year, $70 million contract, The Athletic and ESPN reported. The deal would make Lue one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA.
The Clippers confirmed the deal but did not disclose terms.
Lue coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA championship in franchise history in 2016. He parted ways with the team in 2018 and became an assistant coach under Doc Rivers ahead of the 2019-20 season. He was promoted to head coach in October 2020.
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The Clippers have made one Western Conference finals appearance under Lue.
Tyronn Lue of the LA Clippers during Game 2 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks April 23, 2024, at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
“T Lue is everything we want in a head coach. He’s a brilliant tactician and a natural leader with an extraordinary ability to connect with those around him, both players and staff,” Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement.
“Four years ago, we felt privileged to hire T Lue, and we feel just as fortunate today. There’s no one we’d rather coach our team. T Lue is a pillar of the organization and will be for a very long time.”
LA Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue in the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Dec. 31, 2022. (Trevor Ruszkowski/USA Today Sports)
Lue, who coached LeBron James during his tenure in Cleveland, recently waved off talk that he might be a candidate for the job coaching James with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I didn’t come in to bounce around, go all over the place,” Lue said at the time.
Lue released a statement Wednesday expressing his excitement about the opportunity to continue coaching the Clippers.
“This is where I want to be. I’ve loved coaching this team for the past four years, and I’m excited to head into a new era at Intuit Dome,” Lue said.
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Lue played 11 years in the NBA, winning championships in 2000 and 2001 with the Lakers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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