Report: Lakers were not willing to give Ty Lue 5-year deal

Tyronn Lue and his representatives apparently have pulled away from the negotiating table with the Los Angeles Lakers, and a dispute over the length of the contract reportedly was central to the disagreement between the sides.

News emerged on Wednesday afternoon that the Lakers and Lue had hit an impasse in their negotiations for him to become the team’s next head coach. According to both ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and the Los Angeles Times’ Brad Turner, Lue was seeking a five-year contract, while the team was only willing to offer him $18 million on a three-year deal.

Ty Lue and his reps turned down the Lakers’ offer Tuesday, per league sources. LAL regrouped with an offer in the range of 3 years, $18 million today. Lue’s side pulled out of negotiations. Lue’s camp seeking 5 year deal with salary commensurate with championship resume

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 8, 2019

The Lakers playing hardball in their negotiations would have made more sense if they had another top option to consider, but the other coach they wanted to hire took another job instead. That’s left them in a bad spot.

It’s hard to believe a team that reportedly was paying Magic Johnson $10 million a year to make bad trades and get fined for tampering did not think Lue was worth a five-year deal.