Tyronn Lue nearly became the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers last year, but talks fell apart after the team was not willing to meet his contract demands. We can see why that was not an issue with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Lue has agreed to a five-year deal with the Clippers that is worth somewhere around $7 million per year, according to Jovan Buha and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. That salary will place him among the top-paid coaches in the NBA behind only the biggest names like Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers.
Lue won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and he wanted to be paid accordingly when he was negotiating with the Lakers last year. They reportedly offered him a three-year deal in the $18 million range, and Lue ended up backing out.
Skeptics will say Lue only won a championship because he had LeBron James on his roster, and that obviously can’t be ignored. Still, the NBA is a player’s league, and he has earned the respect of superstar players. He has a solid relationship with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George after spending the 2019-20 season as an assistant on Doc Rivers’ staff, which was likely the biggest factor in the Clippers’ decision to hire him.
