Tyronn Lue discussed his desire to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers amid speculation of the Lakers pursuing the head coach.
The Dallas Mavericks knocked the Clippers out of the postseason on Friday night. Following the elimination loss, Lue told reporters he “would love” to stay with the Clippers.
“I didn’t come here to bounce around and go all over the place,” Lue said. “Mr. (Steve) Ballmer, Lawrence (Frank), Mark (Hughes), and Trent (Redden) have all been great to me. This is where I want to be. Hopefully, they feel the same way.”
While he wouldn’t comment directly on the Lakers, Lue acknowledged that it’s “great to be wanted.”
“That’s a really good feeling,” Lue said. “But like I said, I want to be here, and hopefully we’ll able to solidify that.”
The Lakers fired Darvin Ham after his second season ended in a first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets. Speculation quickly turned to them trying to poach the other L.A. head coach.
Lue coached LeBron James, who can opt out of his Lakers contract this offseason, to a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He turned down a Lakers job offer in 2019.
After spending one season as Doc Rivers’ assistant, Lue led the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals as their head coach in 2021. However, they haven’t gotten past the opening round in the last three seasons.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers will attempt to extend Lue. The 47-year-old has two seasons remaining on his contract.