WOJ Clippers sign Ty Lue to a long term contract

[PeteyPablo]

Ty Lue and the Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to a contract extension that will make him one of the NBA's highest-paid coaches. Lawrence Frank negotiated the contract with Andy Miller of Kluth Sports to retain Lue as the Clippers move to their new arena next season.

Lue was elevated to head coach of the Clippers in 2020 and guided the team to the Western Conference Finals in the following season.

Lue had one season remaining on his contract and was a target of teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.

[og15]

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[Clemenza]

It was the right move. The real question mark has always been Lawrence Frank.

[Bobbymcgee]

Makes sense and not surprising considering the Clippers have already double downed on the 213 era by extending Leonard for three more years.

[MartinToVaught]

It was the right move. The real question mark has always been Lawrence Frank.

I think they are both equally bad. Frank doesn't take the draft seriously enough and has no ideas beyond signing 40-year-olds who used to be good 15 years ago. Lue coddles veterans and ignores that player development is part of his job. They are both responsible for why we have the oldest, slowest, lowest-upside team in the league.

Ballmer is officially a bigger problem than both of them, though, because the way he runs the team is grounded in emotion, not reality. It's uncomfortable to fire people or rebuild a roster from scratch. It's way easier to just stay on the treadmill and hope to get lucky one year, so that's exactly what Ballmer will do every time unless a factor outside of his control (like a trade demand or someone getting hired away) forces change.

We are in the worst position of any team going forward and we're keeping the same people who led us there. It's utter insanity.

[Clemenza]

It was the right move. The real question mark has always been Lawrence Frank.

I think they are both equally bad. Frank doesn't take the draft seriously enough and has no ideas beyond signing 40-year-olds who used to be good 15 years ago. Lue coddles veterans and ignores that player development is part of his job. They are both responsible for why we have the oldest, slowest, lowest-upside team in the league.

Ballmer is officially a bigger problem than both of them, though, because the way he runs the team is grounded in emotion, not reality. It's uncomfortable to fire people or rebuild a roster from scratch. It's way easier to just stay on the treadmill and hope to get lucky one year, so that's exactly what Ballmer will do every time unless a factor outside of his control (like a trade demand or someone getting hired away) forces change.

We are in the worst position of any team going forward and we're keeping the same people who led us there. It's utter insanity.

With Ty Lue you just have to take his old ratted stuffed toys away from him so he's forced to play with the ps5 or xbox series x. As soon as I found out PJ Tucker was part of the Harden deal we all knew it was Morris Sr. version 2.0 incoming. Russ probably kicking and screaming not to go to the bench. PG wanting his friends on the team. The John Wall experiment. The Harden experiment, etc. All that goofball sh*t has to be done and over with asap and that's on L. Frank and Ballmer. Clippers/Reddit page had a theory that the CP3 and Lowery interest was leaked to get Russ to opt out of his player option for next season. Great guy, but I'm positive the team doesn't want him back. Its a mess and they have to clean this sh*t up and be a real team and front office for once.

But they had to keep Lue. No replacements are out there and they're not going to hire a first time head coach for this team and situation.

[esqtvd]

It was the right move. The real question mark has always been Lawrence Frank.

Bringing Ty back is a total Ballmer move. And the other story says he wants PG and Beard back too. The buck stops with Ballmer, which is why L-Frank probably isn't going anywhere either. Frank is just the face put on Ballmer's decisions.

The Clips are screwed anyway with lost draft picks and pick swaps and the new CBA.

Might as well roll the dice on The Over the Hill Gang making it to the playoffs healthy some year than expecting to build a real contender out of late FRPs, second-rounders, and G-Leaguers. 45 or 47 wins a year is a realistic goal, and a lot more fun than what the Lakers put their fans through in the 2010s--6 lousy seasons [including a 17-win stinker] between Kobe and LeBron.

[Roscoe Sheed]

It was the right move. The real question mark has always been Lawrence Frank.

Bringing Ty back is a total Ballmer move. And the other story says he wants PG and Beard back too. The buck stops with Ballmer, which is why L-Frank probably isn't going anywhere either. Frank is just the face put on Ballmer's decisions.

The Clips are screwed anyway with lost draft picks and pick swaps and the new CBA.

Might as well roll the dice on The Over the Hill Gang making it to the playoffs healthy some year than expecting to build a real contender out of late FRPs, second-rounders, and G-Leaguers. 45 or 47 wins a year is a realistic goal, and a lot more fun than what the Lakers put their fans through in the 2010s--6 lousy seasons [including a 17-win stinker] between Kobe and LeBron.

might as well try the same strategy for the next 3 seasons or so- although they are unlikely to be successful in the playoffs- you never know. The current playoffs show that it is fairly wide open without any single dominant team. As you mentioned, they don't have much in the way of draft capital or cap space, so they almost don't have any choice but to run it back for the next 3 seasons and hope for the best- however unlikely it is.

[KL2]

Can’t blame Lue. I’d take $70 to be a yes man too. Why bother coaching right?

[MartinToVaught]

With Ty Lue you just have to take his old ratted stuffed toys away from him so he's forced to play with the ps5 or xbox series x. As soon as I found out PJ Tucker was part of the Harden deal we all knew it was Morris Sr. version 2.0 incoming. Russ probably kicking and screaming not to go to the bench. PG wanting his friends on the team. The John Wall experiment. The Harden experiment, etc. All that goofball sh*t has to be done and over with asap and that's on L. Frank and Ballmer. Clippers/Reddit page had a theory that the CP3 and Lowery interest was leaked to get Russ to opt out of his player option for next season. Great guy, but I'm positive the team doesn't want him back. Its a mess and they have to clean this sh*t up and be a real team and front office for once.

But they had to keep Lue. No replacements are out there and they're not going to hire a first time head coach for this team and situation.

A coach who needs the front office to keep "taking his toys away" is not a coach who deserves a longterm contract extension and one of the highest coaching salaries in the sport. For $70 million, we should be getting a Spo-level coach who can make a competitive team out of thin air and adapt to his personnel. Lue can't even do the basics of coaching like playing guys who help the team win and benching those who don't.

I don't buy that there are no replacements out there. There are talented coaches all over the world. Frank is too lazy and incompetent to look for them and Ballmer is way too risk-averse to make changes when needed.

I agree that the constant dysfunction needs to stop, but I think we all know it never will as long as the same people are running this team. A lot of the "goofball ****" is just the consequence of refusing to move on from a team that has jumped the shark. The more apparent it is that 213 isn't going to work, the more desperation moves we see from Ballmer and Frank to keep the delusion going.

[TrueLAfan]

We’re clearly going to have “veteran” (i.e. “old) players leading the team for the next few years. You can’t realistically go with an inexperienced coach, or someone that doesn’t have a lot of respect in the league. T. Lue is a fine choice. He’s a good coach.

I think, in general, we give coaches way too much grief. There are moments (*cough*Bundenholzer!*cough*) when a coach—even a good coach--screws things up. Lue is a good Xs and Os guy and keeps the players on the same page. He doesn’t throw people under the bus and makes good decisions given the aging, up and down lineup he’s got. If a team is bad, it’s usually because of disunity among players that a coach can’t contain. Lue avoids that for extended periods. He’s a good choice to run this team.

There are some exaggerations here too., Take P.J. (Please—someone take P.J.) Anyway, he came over in trade and got a little bit of run … we’re talking about less than 175 minutes over a dozen games just to see what he had left, how he would fit in, and if he had value to the team. Turns out the answers to those things were “not much!” “not too well” and “not much!” He then got more than two months of DNPs as the team tried to find a suitor for him, or he could take a buyout. What did the coach do wrong there?

[nickhx2]

mostly agree with you, true - but once tucker started opening his trap he shoulda been banished to eternity. that's just basically tanking any and all chemistry to let him yap and be entitled, only to be given minutes at all - let alone minutes in a critical playoff game. i think testing him out when he first arrived was the right move. after that, i don't even think you're supposed to let him board the plane.

[Wammy Giveaway]

I don't buy that there are no replacements out there. There are talented coaches all over the world.

Prove it. Give me an example. A coach that nobody has ever heard of before that can actually take the Clippers to where you want them to go.

One challenge: you are not allowed to choose a coach that is already on board. Those would be considered coaching trades and require the Clippers to give up a pick as well as enter a gag order where they are barred from trading with that team for a whole year. This also means no promotions, no coaches off of a firing, not even given permission to speak to another team's personnel. This is even more problematic now that there are rumors of the team willing to accept their position as a 2nd apron team. You are only allowed to pick up coaches from other leagues or from the NCAA. Who would it be?

[wakelaunch1]

It was the right move. The real question mark has always been Lawrence Frank.

LMAO, you made me spill me drink

[MartinToVaught]

We’re clearly going to have “veteran” (i.e. “old) players leading the team for the next few years. You can’t realistically go with an inexperienced coach, or someone that doesn’t have a lot of respect in the league.

We have already spent over a decade catering to "stars" and veterans' every demand. Except for one WCF that was over before it started, we've gotten nothing out of it in all that time. Doing what the players want is exactly why we are where we are today. It's why we have a treadmill team and no assets. It is the definition of insanity to keep going with a strategy that's already failed this badly.

He doesn’t throw people under the bus

I think RoCo would strongly disagree with you there.

and makes good decisions given the aging, up and down lineup he’s got.

The aging up-and-down lineup is at least half his fault for refusing to play anyone under 30. Was giving 30 guaranteed minutes per game to a beyond washed Marcus Morris all season a good decision?

What did the coach do wrong there?

He caved in to PJ's hissy fit at the trade deadline and put him back in the rotation. In doing so, he reinforced that you don't have to be good to get playing time on the Clippers, you just have to be old.

[wakelaunch1]

It was the right move. The real question mark has always been Lawrence Frank.

Bringing Ty back is a total Ballmer move. And the other story says he wants PG and Beard back too. The buck stops with Ballmer, which is why L-Frank probably isn't going anywhere either. Frank is just the face put on Ballmer's decisions.

The Clips are screwed anyway with lost draft picks and pick swaps and the new CBA.

Might as well roll the dice on The Over the Hill Gang making it to the playoffs healthy some year than expecting to build a real contender out of late FRPs, second-rounders, and G-Leaguers. 45 or 47 wins a year is a realistic goal, and a lot more fun than what the Lakers put their fans through in the 2010s--6 lousy seasons [including a 17-win stinker] between Kobe and LeBron.

This team as currently constructed is only going to get older and worse. This was our last year. Our record will only get worse. Kawhi isnt playing 60 games ever again. PG is getting worse and worse. Harden is getting worse. Harden didnt take over one game this year. Russ is getting worse. They are all overpaid for their production. and they are going to extend Zu. Its a total ****

[wakelaunch1]

mostly agree with you, true - but once tucker started opening his trap he shoulda been banished to eternity. that's just basically tanking any and all chemistry to let him yap and be entitled, only to be given minutes at all - let alone minutes in a critical playoff game. i think testing him out when he first arrived was the right move. after that, i don't even think you're supposed to let him board the plane.

front office is trash and taking tuckers horrible contract when you have the leverage is peak Clippers.

[esqtvd]

It was the right move. The real question mark has always been Lawrence Frank.

Bringing Ty back is a total Ballmer move. And the other story says he wants PG and Beard back too. The buck stops with Ballmer, which is why L-Frank probably isn't going anywhere either. Frank is just the face put on Ballmer's decisions.

The Clips are screwed anyway with lost draft picks and pick swaps and the new CBA.

Might as well roll the dice on The Over the Hill Gang making it to the playoffs healthy some year than expecting to build a real contender out of late FRPs, second-rounders, and G-Leaguers. 45 or 47 wins a year is a realistic goal, and a lot more fun than what the Lakers put their fans through in the 2010s--6 lousy seasons [including a 17-win stinker] between Kobe and LeBron.

This team as currently constructed is only going to get older and worse. This was our last year. Our record will only get worse. Kawhi isnt playing 60 games ever again. PG is getting worse and worse. Harden is getting worse. Harden didnt take over one game this year. Russ is getting worse. They are all overpaid for their production. and they are going to extend Zu. Its a total ****

And as I've been saying for a month now, and using my crystal ball for the past year--the alternatives are worse. The time to trigger the teardown was a fire sale at the trading deadline THIS year. KL and PG could have netted some FRPs and maybe some young talent. But February 10 was RIGHT when the Clippers were coming off that great 26-5 run, were the hottest team in the NBA and had become a top-tier favorite for the title.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5273088/2024/02/14/nba-futures-odds-celtics-remain-favored-clippers-are-on-the-rise/

After 5 years of false starts, Ballmer's 213 wet dream was finally becoming a reality. He was hardly going to break it all up then!

And you know, it wasn't a bad plan. The likely champion Celts' bookend wings Jayson and Jaylen are 26 and 27; KL and PG were 28 and 29. It just didn't pan out.

[Quake Griffin]

Nah. Kawhi was a good idea. Everything else was pretty terrible and it was recognized as that in real time on this board and elsewhere. It gets worse with every injury, failed season, and the “discovery” of our new Trojan Horse - we’re stuck with this team for better or worse.

Being stuck with a treadmill roster, my private parts, my hand, and some comfort that 45 wins is better than 37 is the textbook definition of an awful plan.


Ballmer is the problem. He is a mentally weak owner. It started with him giving the keys to you know who after Donald T was banned. It was more noticeable when he let Kawhi walk all over him to sign here. It’s culminating with sticking with this geriatric bunch to save us from Opening Night Embarrassment.

Not good enough Mr. Billionaire. We want a championship. If you subject us to 6 years of treadmilling just because other teams own our picks, you will be the worst owner in the sport.

[og15]

Every coach has their quirks and nuances, Kidd was considered a terrible coach all regular season by many Mavs fans, even when he started coaching them to a top defense after the trade, etc

Suddenly in the playoffs many people don't know how to talk about Kidd, is he lucky? Maybe he's not that bad? Maybe they simply didn't know as much as they felt they did? Etc, etc

That's the first thing to acknowledge, as fans, our evaluation of own teams coach is generally questionable and more negative than reality. Okay, but that doesn't mean there's never valid criticism.

Multiple Roles
Next is this, being a head coach is a job with more than one role, but many of us as fans judge mostly on just part of the job description.

There are excellent x/o guys who would be awful as head coaches because they don't manage personalities well, might not be good at listening to others, so they don't foster good collaboration, and maybe don't know how to motivate/"rally the troops". That guy is likely an assistant for life who gets a head coaching gig for a short time then goes back to assistant and people ask, "but why was he fired, he's so good at x/os".

The head coach job is a combination of leadership, people management, motivation, x/o's, delegation and collaboration, not just how well you can draw up a play, how you manage rotations or what offensive or defensive schemes you can come up with.

What I can say about Lue is that he seems to be a guy who is solid at many areas even if people say, "oh he isn't great at this, or he doesn't do this thing that well". That helps him.

Easily Disposable
The Clippers limitations as a team so far are not about Lue. In addition, as we know in the NBA, a long coaching contract means very little in terms of job security. How many teams are currently paying Vogel for example? Coaching contracts are the owners money and don't affect cap, so I don't care much about coaching contract lengths when teams fire guys and pay them for 3, 4 years after all the time.