Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue will stay with the team.
Lue and the Clippers are both interested in signing a long-term contract.
“I didn’t come here to move around a lot,” Lue told journalists after Friday’s 114-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 that ended the Clippers’ season. “And Mr. [Steve] 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. So I haven’t had a bad experience since I’ve been here. Mr. Ballmer showed me a lot of different things that I wouldn’t be privy to if I wasn’t here.
“… Having a great relationship with the owner and the front office is great. So I would love to be here long term.”
Lue, who has one more year left in his current deal, is expected to reach an agreement with the Clippers this offseason as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Clippers want to sign him to a new multi-year extension amid the Los Angeles Lakers coaching rumors.
In the aftermath of Darvin Ham’s firing, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha and Shams Charania reported that Lue would immediately become a Lakers coaching candidate if he parts ways with the Clippers after their early playoff exit.
But Lue quickly dismissed the rumors linking him to the Lakers.
“I don’t really have a comment on that,” Lue said. “I mean it’s great to be wanted you know that’s a really good feeling but like I said I want to be here and hopefully we’re able to solidify that.”
Second Straight First-Round Exit
Lue’s job is secure despite the Clippers second consecutive first-round exit.
But Lue did not have Kawhi Leonard for four of the six games in the playoffs. The Clippers star was again sidelined by knee inflammation. In both games he played, the Clippers lost.
Paul George and James Harden could not help the Clippers beat the Mavericks.
George had 18 points and 11 rebounds while Harden, who was acquired midseason, only shot 5 of 16 from the field and missed all six of his 3-pointers. Harden finished with 16 points and 13 assists.
The Clippers lost the game — and the series — in the third quarter when the Mavericks outscored them 35-20. After the deficit ballooned to 20 in the fourth quarter, the Clippers tried one last attempt to make a comeback.
A Harden 3-point play finished an 11-0 run for the Clippers, who managed to reduce the Mavericks’ lead to 13 with 3:11 left. But that was the closes they could get as the Mavericks’ steady free throw shooting gave them enough cushion in the end.
Clippers’ Top Priorities
Aside from Lue’s contract extension, the Clippers’ other main priorities this offseason is to re-sign both George and Harden to new deals.
Leonard accepted a paycut to extend with the Clippers with an expectation that it will help the franchise bring George and Harden back.
That is now in peril after Leonard was not available again in the playoffs.
George has yet to agree to an extension while Harden can sign anywhere as an unrestricted free agent. George can also become an unrestricted free agent if he and the Clippers do no reach an agreement and he does not pick up his $48.8 player option for next season.
'I have many feelings and thoughts in my mind at the moment.' Harden said after the defeat.
