Report: Cavaliers sign Tyronn Lue to 3-year deal
There's a new sheriff in Cleveland.
After relieving David Blatt of head coaching duties, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed assistant Tyronn Lue as his replacement to a three-year deal, league sources told Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Cleveland coach Ty Lue's three-year contract is worth $9.5M-plus, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 22, 2016
Since retiring as a player in 2009, the 38-year-old Lue has worked as a director of basketball development with the Boston Celtics and an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers.
He interviewed for the head coaching vacancy in Cleveland in 2014. The job would eventually go to Blatt, but Lue was brought aboard as the highest-paid assistant ever.
Multiple reports suggest he holds a strong rapport with the players, while there was a disconnect with Blatt.
However, the job of coaching a team with the league's highest payroll, the most visible player in LeBron James, and an all-out championship-or-bust mentality won't be easy. Under Blatt, the Cavaliers made the Finals last season and are currently on a 60-win pace, and even that wasn't enough to save his position.
That same pressure will now fall onto Lue's shoulders.