Tyronn Lue Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Notes: George, Harden, Westbrook, Lue, Tucker, More

May 4th, 2024 at 8:16am CST by Tristan Tucker

Even after a disappointing exit in the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers are expected to make a strong push to bring back both Paul George (player option) and James Harden (unrestricted free agent) this offseason, Sam Amick and Law Murray of The Athletic write. Despite failing to advance past the first round since 2021, team owner Steve Ballmer still has faith in this core.

The Clippers’ poor injury luck during the Kawhi Leonard era prevented them from seeing this roster at full strength for long, but they did win 26 of 31 games from December to February at full health. That, according to The Athletic, is seemingly a big reason behind L.A.’s eagerness to run it back. Even though Ballmer wants to keep things going with this core as the Clips on their new home floor in Intuit Dome next season, the nuanced contract negotiations with George, Harden, coach Tyronn Lue and Russell Westbrook may complicate things, Amick and Murray write.

George has been eligible for an extension all season, and while negotiations have been extensive, the lack of a deal leaves the possibility open for the nine-time All-Star to depart for a cap-space team like Philadelphia or Orlando. Though George holds a player option worth $48.7MM, he’s widely expected to decline it and become an unrestricted free agent if no extension is reached. Los Angeles wants George to accept a deal similar in structure to what Leonard agreed on, which saved L.A. approximately $9.9MM. A non-max deal would help the team financially going forward as it surely crosses the restrictive second tax apron by bringing back George and Harden.

Harden wants to continue with the Clippers and he’s happy to be with the team, but it could get tricky to keep him if he seeks a max contract. Meanwhile, Westbrook accepted a reserve role in L.A. and while he found success in the regular season, he may look for an opportunity to start elsewhere.

As for Lue, while Clippers’ officials praise the work the veteran coach has done, there have been no discussions about an extension, according to Amick and Murray. Friday reports indicated the Clips plan to pursue an extension with Lue, but those conversations have not yet taken place. According to The Athletic, the Clippers know they can’t improve on Lue and expect him to be the coach next season, likely blocking other teams from trying to talk to him. For his part, Lue expressed an interest in making a long-term commitment to the Clippers during his series-ending media availability (Twitter link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype).

“I didn’t come here to bounce around and go all over the place,” Lue said. “Mr. Ballmer, Lawrence [Frank], Mark [Hughes], and Trent [Redden] have all been great to me. This is where I want to be. Hopefully, they feel the same way.”

We have more from the Clippers:

Forward P.J. Tucker is expected to exercise his $11.5MM player option for next season, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. This comes as no surprise, as Tucker averaged career lows in minutes and points this season. Tucker was frustrated with his role this season and Los Angeles sent him home at one point. Scotto’s piece lines up with the reporting from The Athletic regarding the futures of George, Harden, Lue and Westbrook. In addition to writing about those four, Scotto speculates on what president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank‘s future with the organization looks like.
Including George, the Clippers have eight players eligible to sign extensions this offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks writes in his 2024 offseason guide. Role players Norman Powell, Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac are among the extension-eligible players. Mann, an unrestricted free agent in 2025, is eligible to sign a four-year extension worth $78.7MM.
Leonard missed games in the playoffs for the Clippers for the fourth straight season, but according to his teammates, he tried to play more in this series. “[Kawhi] wanted to be out there, wanted to be with us… it was more staff keeping him back,” George said, per The Orange County Register’s Mirjam Swanson (Twitter link). Leonard appeared in two postseason games this year, averaging 12.0 points per contest.
George didn’t speak much on his upcoming free agency after the Game 6 loss, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “Yeah,” George said on if he sees himself with the Clippers long term. “If it works that way, absolutely. … I’m not even focused on that yet. I got a lot to kind of digest myself, so I haven’t even got to that yet. Look forward to kind of going back, just letting everything kind of decompress, talk to my family, be around family support and then address the next step. … Yeah, it’s just not where I’m there. I’m not there yet.“

Woj: Clippers Want To Retain Lue, George, Harden

May 3rd, 2024 at 3:55pm CST by Rory Maher

After Darvin Ham was fired this afternoon, a report from The Athletic indicated the Lakers would be interested in Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue if he were made available.

Appearing on NBA Today with Malika Andrews (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski downplayed the possibility of Lue becoming the Lakers’ coach, suggesting he could remain with Los Angeles’ other team for the foreseeable future.

“I don’t believe it’s realistic based on this: Ty Lue still has a year left on his contract,” Wojnarowski said (hat tip to RealGM). “And the Clippers are determined to do a long-term deal with Ty Lue, I’m told. They want him to be their head coach for a very long time. That’s a conversation that will happen after the playoffs are over, but they love the job he did this season. They love the job that he’s done there.

“This is an organization that, by all indications, however this series (with Dallas) ends up, wants to re-sign Paul George, James Harden. Try to improve that roster around those two and Kawhi Leonard. And Ty Lue will still be the head coach for them.”

Wojnarowski’s full story regarding Lue, George and Harden can be found right here.

The Lakers tried to hire Lue back in 2019, Wojnarowski noted, but the two sides couldn’t come to terms on a contract. At the time, it was reported that Lue was seeking a larger salary.

Wojnarowski also reiterated a point he previously made, that the Lakers might not go after the biggest available names, such as Mike Budenholzer, for financial reasons.

“You may see other candidates who’ve had success as head coaches, a Kenny Atkinson, a James Borrego, coaches of that ilk certainly could be part of this conversation,” Wojnarowski concluded.

Warriors assistant Atkinson, formerly lead coach of the Nets, was another Lakers candidate recently mentioned by The Athletic. Borrego, Charlotte’s former head coach, is a new name to watch. He’s currently an assistant with the Pelicans.

According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha (Twitter link), Celtics assistant Charles Lee is a candidate for the Lakers’ coaching vacancy as well.

Lakers Fire Darvin Ham

May 3rd, 2024 at 1:17pm CST by Rory Maher

1:17pm: Ham has officially been dismissed, the Lakers confirmed in a press release (Twitter link via Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group).

1:09pm: The Lakers are firing head coach Darvin Ham, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

According to Wojnarowski, general manager Rob Pelinka recently broke the news to Ham over the phone.

Sources tell Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic that L.A. will soon begin an “extensive search” for a new head coach, with former Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, and former NBA player and current ESPN analyst J.J. Redick among the candidates.

Tyronn Lue is another name to watch, per Charania and Buha, though he is currently the Clippers‘ head coach. Lue has one year left on his contract, according to The Athletic.

Multiple reporters, including Marc Stein and ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, recently cited Redick as a candidate if Ham were to be fired. Redick co-hosts a podcast with Lakers superstar LeBron James. He’s also said to be a “serious candidate” for Charlotte’s head coaching position.

An eight-year NBA veteran as a player, Ham was a longtime assistant before getting his first head coaching job with the Lakers a couple years ago. He compiled a 90-74 regular season record (.549 win%) and a 9-12 playoff record (.429) in his two seasons at the helm. The team also won a play-in game in each of the past two seasons to advance as the No. 7 seed.

That postseason record is a little misleading, since L.A. made the Western Conference Finals last year before being swept by the Nuggets, who went on to win the championship. The Lakers lost to the Nuggets again in ’23/24, dropping their first-round series in five games.

“It’s been a hell of a two years … I’ll tell you that,” Ham said Monday after L.A. was eliminated, per McMenamin. “Sitting in this seat, it’s been a hell of a two years. A lot of good things that got done, but ultimately, you want to win that ultimate prize.”

Wojnarowski first reported that Ham would be on the hot seat if the Lakers were quickly dispatched by the Nuggets, with multiple subsequent reports indicating that the 50-year-old’s job was in “serious peril.” On Thursday, Buha stated on The Athletic’s NBA Show podcast that Ham would likely be fired by the end of the week and perhaps sooner (hat tip to RealGM).

Ham had two years remaining on his contract, which reportedly paid him $5MM annually. He has “a lot of supporters throughout the NBA,” tweets Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com.

A two-time Coach of the Year with Atlanta and Milwaukee, Budenholzer won a championship with the Bucks in 2021. He was dismissed last summer following a first-round playoff exit.

Atkinson is another former head coach, having previously worked for Brooklyn. He backed out of Charlotte’s coaching vacancy a couple years ago after being offered the job.

L.A. Notes: LeBron, Bronny, George, Harden, Lue

May 1st, 2024 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James‘ desire to play with his son Bronny James next season may be overstated, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said during an appearance on NBA Today on Tuesday (YouTube link). Citing his conversations with agent Rich Paul, Wojnarowski suggested that if Bronny decides to remain in the 2024 draft, the James family is more focused on getting him into the right developmental situation rather than steering him toward the Lakers.

“The idea of them playing together is not a priority. It’s not foremost – at least any longer – in LeBron James’ mind,” Wojnarowski said. “… If (Bronny) does go in the draft, he very likely would spend next year in the G League.

“… I think that’s the priority for them as a family, what’s best for Bronny James. And if it ends up them together, that would be great, but I don’t get a sense it’s playing much – if any – role in LeBron James’ decision on next season.”

Wojnarowski’s comments on NBA Today represented the latest in a series of reports about LeBron’s motivations and potential player option decision entering the offseason. James, who shut down that line of conversation following Monday’s Game 5 loss to Denver, took to Twitter on Tuesday in another attempt to quell the speculation about his contract situation.

“I’ve seen, heard a lot of reports about my future,” James wrote. “I said it last night and I’ll say it again. I do not know yet as I’m only thinking about spending time with my family and friends! When I know after speaking with the fam, my counsel, as well as my representation about it then you guys will know.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s two Los Angeles teams:

The Lakers are spending the day on Wednesday conducting exit interviews with their players, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN, who tweets that the team is still going through the process of evaluating its season — and evaluating head coach Darvin Ham. Reporting earlier this week indicated that Ham’s job is very much in jeopardy but that the team will take a few days to finalize a decision.
Appearing on ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast with Brian Windhorst (YouTube link), Ramona Shelburne identified the Magic as another team (along with the Sixers) that is “paying very close attention” to Paul George‘s contract situation entering the 2024 offseason. Teammate Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers agreed to an extension worth a little less than the max earlier this year, but George has yet to reach an agreement on a similar deal and could become a free agent in July. “It’s just a matter of whether the Clippers are gonna give him the max, which is something they don’t want to do because they didn’t give it to Kawhi,” Windhorst said (hat tip to NBC Sports).
Weighing James Harden‘s underwhelming playoff history against his poised, disciplined performance during the Clippers‘ first four games against Dallas this spring, Jim Trotter of The Athletic considers whether or not it’s time to start believing in the postseason version of the veteran guard.
With Tyronn Lue seemingly unfazed by the absence of Leonard for much of the first round so far, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times explores how the rest of the Clippers have adopted the steady, even-keeled demeanor of their head coach.

Tyronn Lue Calls Clippers ‘Soft’ Following Monday’s Loss

March 26th, 2024 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams

Russell Westbrook returned to action on Monday at home vs. Indiana following a 12-game absence due to a left hand fracture, but it wasn’t enough for the Clippers, who lost for the sixth time in their past nine games and are now 10-12 since getting off to a 34-15 start.

Monday’s defeat at the hands of the Pacers moved the Clippers out of the top four in the Western Conference for the first time since December — the Pelicans now control the No. 4 seed, with an identical 44-27 record and a tiebreaker edge over Los Angeles.

Speaking after the game to reporters, including Ohm Youngmiusk of ESPN and Law Murray of The Athletic, James Harden said the Clippers “gotta find” their identity, adding that teams are scoring too easily on them. Asked about the team’s identity, head coach Tyronn Lue offered a blunt assessment.

“Right now, do we have an identity? I think, yeah. We’re soft,” Lue said. “That could be an identity, if you want to call (it) that. Like, we got to be tougher, mentally and physically.”

The Clippers got off to a 3-7 start this season, struggling initially to adjust following the acquisition of Harden from Philadelphia. Lue expressed confidence at that time that his team would be fine, and the Clippers rewarded that confidence with a 26-5 midseason stretch. The veteran coach is once again optimistic that his club will ultimately figure things out, but suggested on Monday that it will take a change to their mindset and approach.

“When we were 26-5, we had a great identity,” Lue said. “So you can’t pick and choose when you want to lead. You can’t pick and choose when you want to have identity. You can’t pick and choose when you want to do things the right way.”

The Clippers were just 6-6 during Westbrook’s absence in recent weeks, and there’s hope that the return of the former MVP will help invigorate a second unit that dipped to 18th in scoring while he was out. Westbrook spoke on Monday about the role he believes he can play in helping the club reestablish its identity.

“You don’t point fingers, you don’t point blame,” Westbrook said. “Each individual, I think we got to look within, look within ourselves, and figure out how we can better help our team. I think that’s where we start, we start with ourselves. I start with myself. And then come together collectively and figure out how we now bring what we all have and bring to the table.

“As we’ve seen when we’ve done it the right way, it shows that we’re a hard team to stop. And we know where our ceiling is, we know how we need to get there. And I think ultimately, as a leader, it’s my job just to hold guys accountable, hold myself accountable, and make sure that we stay together through this tough little patch that we’re having. And to me, it’s as simple as that.”

Los Angeles Notes: Powell, Westbrook, Lue, Davis

March 17th, 2024 at 7:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers are a little banged up going into the game against Atlanta tonight, according to Janis Carr of the Orange County Register.

Norman Powell left Friday’s game against New Orleans on crutches and won’t play due tonight due to a left leg contusion. Terance Mann limped into the locker room during the first half on Friday but is in the starting lineup. Russell Westbrook is still out with a fractured left hand.

James Harden was listed as questionable but will play despite with a strained left shoulder. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are also showing signs of wear after a rugged stretch of the schedule.

We have more on the Los Angeles teams:

The Clippers have lost four of their last seven games and their margin for error is shrinking, Law Murray of The Athletic notes. They have fallen to fourth place in the Western Conference standings and the oldest team in the league is now forced to rely on their depth.
Coach Tyronn Lue showed signs of frustration with his team after the eight-point loss to the Pelicans, Murray tweets. He expressed that some of his players may not be as competitive as he is. “What do you mean, falls on my shoulders? I’m competitive. I’m ready to compete right now. … I don’t play, they know what we’re supposed to do. So they got to do it,” he said.
Anthony Davis suffered an eye injury during the Lakers’ loss to the Warriors. The Lakers’ struggles after he left the game proved they can’t win any meaningful games without him, Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times opines. They were outscored by 13 points after he left the game, Plaschke notes, and were outscored by 18 in the paint.

Pacific Notes: Thompson, Beal, Gordon, Lue, James

February 29th, 2024 at 9:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors coach Steve Kerr revealed that Klay Thompson initially balked at the prospect of being the team’s sixth man, he told ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. Thompson yelled at Kerr and some members of the staff during a meeting prior to the All-Star break before later returning to apologize.

“It was not an easy conversation,” Kerr said. “This is maybe the hardest part about getting further away from our prime. It’s just, after 12 years [of Thompson starting], it wasn’t easy. And still moving forward, it’s not going to be easy. But I told him, ‘If you really embrace it, you can help your team win.'”

Thompson said the All-Star break helped ease his mind over the coaching staff’s plan.

“It was having a complete reset, a huge mental reset. It helped so much,” he said.

Thompson stated in an interview with The Athletic’s Sam Amick that his new role wouldn’t play into his decision during free agency this summer. Thompson, who is eligible for a four-year extension, remains open to a shorter-term deal, according to Andrews.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Suns had three late scratches on Thursday against Houston, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Bradley Beal missed his fifth straight game due to left hamstring injury management. Eric Gordon sat out with left groin soreness. They were listed as questionable on Wednesday. Nassir Little didn’t suit up due to left knee inflammation after not being on the initial injury report.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue had a health scare when he was coaching Cleveland due to stress and poor eating and sleeping habits. He’s learned from that experience and has a much healthier diet and exercise plan, he told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “I’ve been working out. Eating better. I still have my moments. [I’m] eating less. It’s been good,” Lue said. “(Strength and conditioning coach Daniel Shapiro) has done a good job of staying on me because I can stray away. I’m just doing 20 to 30 minutes per day … Now I’m about 208 [pounds]. Back [in Cleveland] I was 241. I can’t believe I got that big.”
LeBron James sparked the biggest fourth-quarter comeback of his career against the Clippers on Wednesday in the two teams’ final matchup as cohabitants of Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers rallied from 21 points down with the aid of three three-pointers early in the fourth from James, who finished with 34 points. “It’s just a zone, and you can’t really describe it,” James said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “You wish you could stay in it forever, but obviously it checks out once the game ends. But during it, you don’t feel anything. It’s just like a superpower feel.“

Tyronn Lue Fined $35K For Comments About Officiating

February 16th, 2024 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has been fined $35K for public criticism of the officiating and questioning the integrity of game officials, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

Lue’s comments occurred after the Clippers’ 130-125 victory over the Warriors in Golden State on Wednesday. Cameras captured him outside L.A.’s locker room greeting his players by shouting, “Where the refs at now? Cheating. That’s all they be doing” (Twitter video link).

Lue had been ejected from the game early in the fourth quarter when he received a pair of technical fouls less than a minute apart for arguing foul calls. The Clippers trailed by a score of 103-94 at the time of his ejection, but came back for the victory.

A handful of NBA head coaches – including Mike Brown, Taylor Jenkins, Ime Udoka, and Darko Rajakovic – have been fined this season for criticizing the officiating after games.

Unlike those other coaches, Lue didn’t air his complaints to reporters during a postgame media session, but given that he was caught on camera, the league felt it couldn’t turn a blind eye to his “cheating” comment.

Tyronn Lue, Tom Thibodeau Named Coaches Of The Month

February 1st, 2024 at 9:20pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau were named Coaches of the Month for January, the NBA announced Thursday (Twitter link).

Lue, who was also the Western Conference’s Coach 0f the Month in December, led the Clippers to a 13-3 record in January. The Clippers have gone 28-8 since a 3-7 start to the season and, entering Thursday, sat at third in the Western standings, just 2.0 games out of first place.

The Clippers appear to be firing on all cylinders through the first half of the season. James Harden has fit in nicely after being traded to Los Angeles at the beginning of the season while Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were named All-Stars earlier Thursday. Ivica Zubac and Russell Westbrook are among others playing well in their roles.

Thibodeau, the Eastern Conference winner, helped propel the Knicks toward the top of the standings in January. The Knicks went 14-2 after the New Year, including separate winning streaks of five and eight games. After beginning the month with a 17-15 record, the Knicks are now 31-17 and in third in the conference.

Like the Clippers, the Knicks have two All-Stars and several players fitting nicely into their roles. OG Anunoby, traded to New York on Dec. 30, was a huge part of New York’s month. He’s averaging 15.6 points, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks per game since being moved.

The other nominees in the Western Conference were Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault, Utah’s Will Hardy, Memphis’s Taylor Jenkins and Phoenix’s Frank Vogel, according to NBA PR (Twitter link). Cleveland’s J.B. Bickerstaff, Indiana’s Rick Carlisle and Boston’s Joe Mazzulla were the other nominees in the Eastern Conference.

Pacific Notes: Leonard, Frank, Lue, Green, Durant

January 10th, 2024 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kawhi Leonard has been eligible for an extension for the past six months, and Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank never had any doubt that a deal would get done, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. signed the star forward to a three-year, $152.4MM extension on Wednesday that will keep him under contract through the 2026/27 season.

“We knew this union was going to happen,” Frank told reporters before Wednesday’s game. “We both wanted it to happen and we came to an agreement.”

Frank added that there was “no hesitation” about making such a large commitment to a player with a long injury history who is in 30s. Leonard has dispelled some of those physical concerns this season by playing in the Clippers’ first 27 games and 32 of 36 overall. The team is 13-1 with him in the lineup since the start of December and he’s putting up All-Star numbers over that stretch, averaging 26.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals per night while shooting 57% from the field and 48% from long distance.

Lawrence added that Leonard’s willingness to accept less that the full amount he was eligible to receive — approximately $220MM over four years — will help the organization in upcoming negotiations with Paul George and James Harden.

“In order to win, you need to be able to have flexibility to have really good teammates,” Frank said. “And in order to do that, there’s sacrifices that need to be made. And what I love what I’ve heard from our guys, what Kawhi has shown is … we want everyone to be compensated fairly and yet also preserve flexibility to both in the short and long term have contending rosters.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Leonard’s extension with the Clippers includes a 15% trade kicker, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Coaches and players throughout the league are recognizing the job that Clippers coach Tyronn Lue has done in making all the pieces mesh after the early-season trade for Harden, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Lue guided the team through a rough stretch after Harden arrived and found a way to build an effective offense around numerous players who are used to having the ball in their hands. “He was giving us confidence, he was telling us this is not going to last for a long time, that we’re going to figure out, figure out how we want to play both ways. (He kept saying) it’s going to happen, and he was the one that was preaching that from the start, and we trusted it,” Ivica Zubac said. “Now we’re playing at a high level, and everyone is really confident. We know what we want to do, and it’s been a big time for him.”
Whenever Draymond Green resumes playing, he hopes to cut out the antics that have already led to two extended suspensions this season, relays Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Green addressed his behavior Tuesday at a news conference that marked his return to Warriors practice. “I’ve cost my team enough. I’ve cost this organization enough,” he said. Green will accompany the team on its upcoming trip and may return to action in one of the road games, Andrews tweets.
Suns star Kevin Durant clarified that he intended “no ill will” when he said last month that he hopes Green “gets the help that he needs” following “incident after incident,” per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.