The Cleveland Cavaliers have reportedly signed Tyronn Lue to an extension that will make him the third highest-paid head coach in the Association.
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Ty Lue has agreed to a five-year, $35M extension, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 25, 2016
It’s a move that makes all the sense in the world. After firing David Blatt at the midway point of the 2015-16 season, Cleveland found itself at a crossroads.
It was just coming off an NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors and seemed to be treading water back east.
Replacing Blatt was an assistant in Lue who seemed primed for the job. He had the backing off star forward LeBron James and had the on-court experience to mesh with players on the team.
The end result here was an astonishing and dominating run through the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
And after falling down 3-1 to the very same Warriors in the Finals, Cleveland mounted an amazing comeback to bring a title back to the city for the first time in over a half century.
Needless to say, Lue deserved to get paid the big bucks here. That’s exactly what the Cavaliers’ brass and owner Dan Gilbert did on Monday.
By virtue of his $7 million annual salary, Lue is now tied with Rick Carlisle (Dallas Mavericks) and Stan Van Gundy (Detroit Pistons) as the third highest-paid head coach in the NBA.
Only Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) and Doc Rivers (Los Angeles Clippers) will be earning more moving forward.