Report: Clippers Hire Ty Lue as Next Head Coach

Ty Lue won the 2016 NBA championship as the Cleveland Cavaliers's head coach and was most recently an assistant coach for the Clippers.

The Clippers and Ty Lue have agreed on a five-year deal to make Lue the team's next head coach, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Lue, who was a Clippers assistant coach last season, will replace Doc Rivers, who was let go in late September weeks after L.A.'s loss to the Nuggets in the second round of the Western Conference semifinals.

Lue was previously the head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was fired following an 0–6 start at the beginning of the 2018-19 season. He finished his three-plus years with the Cavs with a 128–83 record overall and won the 2016 NBA championship title.

The former Clippers and Celtics assistant coach was also a candidate for the 76ers, Rockets and Pelicans head coach openings this offseason

According to The Athletic, five-time All-Star Chauncey Billups will join Lue's staff with the Clippers as the team's lead assistant coach. Billups was reportedly a candidate for the Pacers' head coaching opening.

In 2017, while Lue was still the coach in Cleveland, Billups was in discussion to become the Cavaliers' GM but eventually withdrew his name from the search. 

Rivers had been L.A.'s head coach since 2013 and led the Clippers to the playoffs in six of his seven seasons with the club. The Clippers finished the 2019-20 season with a 49-23 record.


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Ben Pickman
BEN PICKMAN