Ty Lue on failed Lakers negotiations in 2019: 'I just didn't think I was treated fairly'

The Lakers settled on Frank Vogel after Lue passed on their job offer

Frank Vogel may have won a championship coaching the Los Angeles Lakers, but he wasn't the team's first choice. The front office initially tried to hire Ty Lue in 2019, and the former Cleveland Cavaliers coach was indeed receptive to a possible reunion with LeBron James. The fit made plenty of sense on paper. James was adjusting to an entirely new situation and roster, and having a coach he'd won with in the past likely would have made things easier after a disappointing first season in Los Angeles.

But the deal ultimately fell apart. The Lakers reportedly offered Lue only a three-year deal—the same pact they eventually signed Vogel to—and wanted input on his staff. Lue declined, and in a recent interview with ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, explained that it was a matter of respect. 

"The Lakers [saw it] more so as like [I'm just] coming to coach LeBron," Lue said. "No, I'm coming to win. I just didn't think I was treated fairly. And I wasn't just going to accept any offer just to get a job.

"I just thought I was better than that."

The Vogel hire ultimately worked out for a year. He won the Lakers a championship. He might have won them another were it not for a combination of mismanagement from the front office and injuries to his best players. But now, with Vogel likely on the chopping block after a second consecutive season outside of the championship picture, it's tempting to wonder what might have been.

Lue went on to join the Clippers, first as an assistant and then as their head coach a year later. He received rave reviews for his adjustments during the 2021 postseason, and this year, he's kept the Clippers in the playoff hunt largely without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. He would likely be among the most coveted coaches in all of basketball if he was available. The Lakers had the chance to hire him.

But every move they made during the 2019 coaching search suggested that they did not view Lue as a top coach, but rather, as someone meant to coach James, specifically. At the time, a three-year deal for Lue would have expired at the same time as the original four-year deal James was playing under, allowing the Lakers to move on from both at the same time if necessary. James has since signed an extension. Vogel has as well, but to show just how little confidence the Lakers have in him beyond the James era, they extended him for just a single year despite winning a championship. The Clippers committed five years to Lue before he ever coached a game for them.

That is the sort of respect a coach of Lue's caliber deserves. The Lakers could have had a coach well-suited for both James and the era that follows him, but they foolishly decided to keep the two separate. This offseason, they are expected to seek out a new coach to replace Vogel. In a way, based on the contract that they offered Lue and eventually gave Vogel, this is exactly what they wanted. They asked for this sort of coaching uncertainty when they refused to make a long-term commitment. Now it's the Clippers with an elite coach locked up for the long haul.