Tyronn Lue (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Friday was an eventful day in the NBA with multiple simultaneous events that were intertwined with one another. One of those was the Clippers‘ elimination from playoff round one after losing 114-101 to the Mavs, resulting in a 4-2 series defeat.

The other one was the firing of Lakers HC Darvin Ham, who could not steer the franchise past the first round of the playoffs. The two events of the cross-city rivals had a link as the Clippers HC Tyronn Lue is currently linked to the now vacant Lakers hot seat. But after the game, Ty Lue made his intentions clear by saying, “I didn’t come here to bounce around and go all over the place… This is where I want to be… I would love to be here long term.”

Lue also proceeded to praise the franchise owner, Steve Ballmer, and said, “Since I’ve been here Mr. Ballmer showed me a lot of different things that I wouldn’t be privy to if I was not here… Just having a great relationship with the owner, with front office. It’s great.” Despite the first-round exit with the likes of James Harden, Paul George and Russell Westbrook in the team, the same sentiments have been echoed by the franchise as well towards the 47-year-old.

Clippers Reportedly Looking to Extend Tyronn Lue Contract

Since the Lakers exit from the postseason, Ty Lue has been heavily linked with a move across the town. Despite the likes of JJ Redick and Jason Kidd in the race, Ty Lue has the advantage due to his relationship with LeBron James, which goes back to their Cavs days.

To stave off the interest in their HC, the Clippers are reportedly preparing to extend Ty Lue’s contract. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers are planning to extend the contract with Lue as they seek to keep the core of the team intact. Paul George, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard’s contracts are also priorities for the franchise in the off-season as they look to build on the 4th seed finish of this season.

With a long off-season ahead for both the Los Angeles sides, the front offices will have sufficient time to ponder their next moves regarding recruitment, and the Ty Lue-Lakers situation has all the potential to be one of the summer stories.