The agreement that the Cavs struck with one-time head coaching candidate Tyronn Lue to convince him to join the team as an assistant coach is the most lucrative ever given to an assistant in NBA history, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s a four-year, $6.5MM deal that includes a $2MM team option for the fourth season, according to Wojnarowski.
Lue is leaving his job as a Clippers assistant to join the staff of David Blatt, who beat out Lue for the head coaching job in Cleveland. Clippers coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers was reluctant to let Lue go, but Cleveland’s money proved overwhelming, Wojnarowski writes.
The 37-year-old spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach under Rivers with the Celtics and Clippers following an 11-year playing career. He’ll be the lead assistant, with the title of associate head coach, under Blatt in Cleveland.