Tyronn Lue and the Clippers have agreed to a long-term contract extension that will make him one of the NBA’s highest-paid coaches, according to people not authorized to speak publicly about the terms of the deal.
The Clippers confirmed the contract extension with an announcement Wednesday, but the team did not disclose the terms of the contract.
The two sides were “progressing” on a deal for Lue, with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank both focused on reaching a deal while negotiating with Lue’s agent, Andy Miller. , from Klutch Sports, according to a person familiar. with negotiations not allowed to discuss them publicly.
By keeping Lue, considered one of the best coaches in the league, the Clippers have one of their key pieces for their move to the Intuit Dome next season.
Lue still had a year left on his contract.
See more information: Amid Lakers coaching speculation, Clippers hope to keep Tyronn Lue for ‘a long time’
After Clippers lost to the Dallas Mavericks In Game 6 of the Western Conference playoffs, Lue expressed his desire to stay with the Clippers and get a deal done, saying he “didn’t come here to jump around, go all over the place.”
“This is where I want to be and I hope they feel the same way,” Lue said after the Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs. “I haven’t had a better experience since I got here. Mr. Ballmer showed me many different things that would not be known if I were not here…. So, just having a great relationship with the owner, with the front office, is great. And so I would love to be here long-term.”
Lue led the Clippers to a 51-31 record this season, fourth best in the Western Conference. He had a 184-134 record in his four seasons with the Clippers and led the franchise to its first conference finals in 2020-21.
He had to navigate the Clippers through the end of this season and into the playoffs without a healthy Kawhi Leonard, the team’s best player. Leonard missed the final eight games of the regular season due to right knee inflammation and played in just two of the six playoff games against the Mavericks.
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The Clippers are also hopeful they can keep Paul George, who can opt out of his $48.7 million deal next season and become a free agent, and James Harden as a free agent.
Frank praised Lue during his exit interview with the media after the Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs.
“I think Ty had a great year,” Frank said. “Our hope is that Ty will be the head coach of the LA Clippers for a long time. He is an unbelievable partner. I love him as a person and as a coach. I think he’s one of the elite coaches in today’s game…So our hope is that Ty is here for a long time and we love Ty.”
This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
