The Clippers confirmed the contract extension with an announcement Wednesday, but the team did not disclose terms of the contract.
The two sides had been “making progress” on a deal for Lue, with Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank both focused on reaching an agreement while negotiating with Lue’s agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, according to a person familiar with the talks not authorized to discuss them publicly.
By keeping Lue, who is considered one of the best coaches in the league, the Clippers have one of their foundation pieces for their move into Intuit Dome for next season.
Lue had one year left on his contract.
After the Clippers lost to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the Western Conference playoffs, Lue expressed his desire to stay with the Clippers and to get a deal done, saying he “didn’t come here to bounce around, go all over the place.”
“This is where I want to be and hopefully they feel the same way,” Lue said after the Clippers were eliminated from the playoffs. “I haven’t had a better experience since I’ve been here. Mr. Ballmer showed me a lot of different things that wouldn’t be privy to if I wasn’t here…. So, just having a great relationship with the owner, the front office, it’s great. And, so, I would love to be here long term.”
Lue led the Clippers to a 51-31 record this season, which was fourth-best in the Western Conference. He had a 184-134 record in his four seasons with the Clippers, and he led the franchise to their first conference finals in the 2020-21 season.
He had to navigate the Clippers through the end of this season and the playoffs without a healthy Kawhi Leonard, the team’s best player. Leonard missed the final eight regular season games with inflammation in his right knee and only played in two of the six playoff games against the Mavericks.
The Clippers are also hopeful that they can keep Paul George, who can opt out of his deal that pays him $48.7 million next season and become a free agent, and James Harden in free agency.
Frank praised Lue during his exit interview with the media after the Clippers were put out of the playoffs.
“I think Ty had a terrific year,” Frank said. “Our hope is that Ty is the coach of the L.A. Clippers for a long time. He’s an unbelievable partner. I love him as a person and as a coach. I think he’s one of the elite coaches in today’s game.… So, our hope is that Ty is here for a long time and we love Ty.”