Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue claims that he passed on the chance to be the Los Angeles Lakers head coach due to disrespect he felt over his resume at the time.
Over the last decade, Tyronn Lue has quietly evolved into being one of the better coaches in the NBA. After 11 seasons in the league — including stops in Los Angeles, Washington, and Atlanta — he moved to the bench and served as an assistant with the Celtics and then the Cavaliers.
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His move to Cleveland was fortuitous. When head coach David Blatt was fired midway through the 2015-16 season, Lue took over a championship team. And was able to guide them to three straight finals trips, including a championship in 2016.
However, his success was often underappreciated. Since it came in the final years of Lebron James’ prime and during the rise of Kyrie Irving. It made some openly question how impactful Lue was on the Cavs’ success and made it seem like many other coaches could have done the same.
And it seems that perception was why he passed on an opportunity to coach the Los Angeles Lakers a year after losing his spot in Cleveland.
- Los Angeles Lakers record: 13-11
Tyronn Lue says Los Angeles Lakers made him an offer that was a ‘slap in the face’
“I think, like you said, the respect level of where I came from knowing LeBron was on our team. You automatically think, ‘Oh, LeBron James did everything,’ which he did a lot. But I don’t think they had the same respect for me as I felt they should have,” Lue told Stephen A. Smith this week. “Now, they offered me the job on a three-year deal. They wanted to pick my coaching staff, and I just wasn’t going to do that.
“For me, to be a championship coach, to take a three-year deal when everyone else is getting five-year deals and more money — and then you want to pick my staff as well — I just thought that was a slap in the face. As a young Black head coach, I thought it would set a bad example for other guys coming up after me.”
- Tyronn Lue record (Career): 326-228
Lue would go on to take the opening with the Los Angeles Clippers. The franchise has posted a 198-145 record during his time on the bench. This is all the more impressive when you factor in how many of those games top star Kawhi Leonard missed.
The Los Angeles Lakers ended up hiring Frank Vogel and he led them to a championship during the COVID-shortened 2019-2020 season. However, he was fired two seasons later.
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