Ty Lue Reveals 'Disrespectful' Offer From Los Angeles Lakers

LA Clippers coach Ty Lue was once offered the head coaching job for the Lakers

Nov 1, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) embraces head coach Tyronn Lue of the LA Clippers after the Lakers won during overtime at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Before Ty Lue became the coach of the LA Clippers, he was once offered the head coaching job of the Los Angeles Lakers. The rumors at the time stated that Lue felt disrespected by the offer that the Lakers brought, and it turns out those rumors were true.

During an interview on the Stephen A. Smith Show, Lue revealed just how disrespectful the coaching offer from the Lakers was. The Lakers wanted to offer him a shorter deal with less money and wanted to pick his coaching staff. It's especially disrespectful when you factor in the fact that Lue won a championship with the Lakers.

"The respect level of where I came from and knowing LeBron was on our team, you automatically think, 'Well LeBron James did everything,' which he did a lot. I don't think they had the same respect for me as I felt they should," Lue said. "They offered me the job on a three-year basis and 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 wanna pick my staff as well? I just thought that was a slap in the face. As a young black head coach, I just thought it was a bad example I was setting up for other guys coming up after me."

Aside from the disrespect, Lue also didn't want to leave his coaching staff behind in Cleveland. If he took the job with the Lakers, then he would have left his team stranded without jobs.

"I'm a loyal person," Lue said. "For me to take the job and leave my guys behind in Cleveland with no job, they were gonna be out of the league, wasn't going to be to take those guys with me. That was tough for me to do, to leave my guys behind. The Lakers didn't do anything wrong, they offered me the job, it was up to me to take the deal. I just said, I respectfully decline."

The modern day Lakers organization has made some questionable decision when it comes to their former players. The way they treated both Ty Lue and the legendary Jerry West is something that's just hard to understand.

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