Clippers officially confirm Lue as coach
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday confirmed their hiring of Tyronn Lue to replace Doc Rivers as coach.
Lue spent last season as an assistant on Rivers’ staff. Rivers coached the Clippers for the last seven seasons and is now guiding the Philadelphia 76ers.
The team will introduce Lue virtually on Wednesday.
Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball operations, said the Clippers conducted a “thorough” search.
“We found that the best choice for our team was already in our building,”
Frank said. “He’s one of the great minds in our league, and he’s able to impart his vision to others, because he connects with everybody he meets.”
Lue was on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ staff when he replaced the fired David Blatt during the 2015-16 season. Under Lue’s guidance, the Cavs and LeBron James went on to win their first-ever NBA championship that season, making Lue one of the few rookie coaches in the league to ever lead his team to a title.
Lue, who won two NBA championships as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers, went 128-83 in parts of four seasons as Cavs coach. He coached the team to the NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018, but both times they lost to Golden State. He was fired after an 0-6 start to the 2018-19 season.
“The pieces we need are in place — committed ownership, smart management, and elite talent, on and off the court, in the NBA’s best market,” Lue said. “My familiarity with the organization, particularly Mr. (Steve) Ballmer and Lawrence, confirmed this is where I want to be.”
Raptors assistant takes over Pacers
Indiana wanted its next coach to take the franchise in a new direction.
The Pacers were seeking someone who could communicate with today’s players, who was open to a new offensive philosophy and who could win some postseason games.
Tuesday, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard found his man in Toronto assistant Nate Bjorkgren.
“Nate is the right coach for us at the right time,” Pritchard said in a statement released by the team.
Terms were not immediately available though several reports said the 45-year-old Bjorkgren agreed to a multi-year deal.
He comes to Indiana after spending two seasons as an assistant on Nick Nurse’s staff in Toronto. There, Bjorkgren helped the Raptors capture their first NBA championship in 2018-19 and was part of a team that earned the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed each of the past two seasons.
He also won a G-League title while working for Nurse in 2010-11 with the Iowa Energy.
And though this will be Bjorkgren’s first head coaching job in the NBA, he went 126-74 in four seasons as a G-League head coach with the Dakota Wizards, Santa Cruz Warriors, Energy and Bakersfield Jam.
Bjorkgren is expected to be introduced Wednesday on a Zoom call.
Bjorkgren replaces Nate McMillan, who was fired Aug. 26 just two weeks after agreeing to a contract extension through the 2021-22 season.