On Wednesday, it was reported the Los Angeles Clippers had reached an agreement on a contract extension with head coach Ty Lue. On Thursday, Shams Charania of The Athletic revealed the terms of the new deal.
Speaking on “Run It Back,” the NBA insider said Lue’s deal is worth $70 million over five years.
“Finally, Ty Lue’s extension, done with the Clippers,” Charania said to host Michelle Beadle. “Five years, Michelle, $70 million from what I’m told, for the extension for Ty Lue. That’s about $14 million a season and that puts him right up there with the top coaches in the league.”
“Ty Lue’s extension is done with the Clippers – 5 Years – $70M”
“Kawhi Leonard is already locked in for the next 3 years… They want both [James Harden & Paul George] back” 👀
– @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/HPJECJLRZq
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 30, 2024
Lue was hired by the Clippers ahead of the 2020-’21 season and from all reports is considered one of the more respected baskeball minds in the league. In the last four seasons he’s posted a 184-144 record with three playoff appearances. Lue’s new deal will keep him under contract until the 2029-’30 offseason and owner Steve Ballmer must have been thrilled to get the contract done ahead of the team’s first year in their new arena in Inglewood.
Lue will presumably have to make a few more deep playoff runs to ensure he sticks around that long, though. After reaching the conference finals in his first season in L.A., Lue hasn’t gotten Clippers past the first round and missed the playoffs entirely in 2021-’22.
In fairness, Lue is afforded more grace than other coaches on teams with similarly high expectations and starpower because his cornerstone player famously has a severe injury problem. Kawhi Leonard was fantastic in helping the Clippers get to the conference finals in Lue’s debut season, but missed the entirety of the following year with a knee injury he suffered during the deep playoff run. In the last two years Leonard has missed 34 regular season games and suited up for all of four postseason contests.
Lue’s tactical abilities have meant the Clippers managed to tread water without their star, which is a large part of the reason why he’s so well-respected despite lacking meaningful playoff success in Los Angeles. In many ways, the way Lue managed to keep his roster competitive despite regular injuries to both Leonard and Paul George makes up the foundation of this new deal. Eventually, however, there will have to be results.
For now, Lue is secure with an extension in place, and a quite lucrative one at that.
