The Los Angeles Clippers took care of a major offseason goal on Wednesday, inking head coach Tyronn Lue to a contract extension and keeping him as the leader of the franchise.
The new deal, which was initially reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, is a five-year deal worth roughly $70 million. It will take Lue through the 2029-30 season, giving him and the Clippers ample time to contend for an NBA Championship.
“T-Lue is everything we want in a head coach,” President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement on Wednesday morning. “He’s a brilliant tactician and a natural leader with an extraordinary ability to connect with those around him, both players and staff. 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.”
Tyronn Lue added in the statement:
“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. I’m grateful to Steve, Lawrence and the entire organization for the opportunity. With our ownership, front office, roster, staff and arena, we have all the advantages we need to win in the present and the future, and I’m confident we will.”
When the team lost in their first round series against the Dallas Mavericks earlier this month, there were many question marks surrounding them. The obvious ones being around the futures of Paul George and James Harden, but also the future of head coach Tyronn Lue, who would be entering the final year of his deal next season.
Despite the loss, Lue said then he's not one to jump from team to team and wanted to remain with the organization. When asked if he expected to remain with the team, Lue said there wasn't a doubt in his mind.
“I hope so. I hope so. I didn't come here to bounce around and go all over the place. Mr. Ballmer, Lawrence [Frank], Mark [Hughes], Trent [Redden], Gillian [Zucker], they've all been great to me. This is where I want to be and hopefully they feel the same way. I haven't had a bad experience since I've been here. Mr. Ballmer's shown me a lot of different things that I wouldn't be privy to if I wasn't here.
“Lawrence being an ex-coach who actually knows the game, who actually can talk basketball, offense and defense, understand the game. That's really good for me as well. Trent Redden who I've been with in Cleveland, won a championship with, so we have a great relationship. And mark Hughes, he actually coached me when I was in Orlando when I was with Doc, so just having a great relationship with the owner, the front office, it's great. I would love to be here long term.”
The morning of Game 6 between the Clippers and Mavs, reports surfaced that Tyronn Lue was a serious candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching position. Following the loss, Lue reaffirmed his commitment to the Clippers and essentially shut down any rumors about the Lakers.
“I don't really have a comment on that,” Lue said. “I mean it's great to be wanted, thats a really great feeling. But I want to be here and hopefully we're able to solidify that.”
The Clippers and Lue were indeed able to solidify that less than a month after their season ended.
With the first domino in their offseason to fall, the Clippers will now turn their attentions to James Harden and Paul George. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported today that the Clippers are ‘determined' to retain both Harden and George this summer.
Whether they'll ultimately be able to do so remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: the Clippers didn't retain Tyronn Lue to rebuild or retool away from championship contention.
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