At Eleventh Hour, Tyronn Lue Ends Contract Talks With Lakers

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The Lakers are back at square one in their head coaching search after reaching an impasse in contract talks Wednesday with their first choice Tyronn Lue.

The 42-year-old Lue and his representatives dropped out of talks due to various roadblocks in the process, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

According to the Times, the Lakers offered Lue a three-year, $18 million deal, far less than the five-year, $25 million contract he was expecting and which his peer, Monty Williams, received from the Phoenix Suns last week in his own head coaching hire.

The Lakers also wanted input on how Lue filled out his staff, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Lakers wanted Lue to bring on former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd to be an assistant coach, sources told Wojnarowski. It's unclear if Lue was OK with Kidd joining his staff.

With Lue dropping out, the Times reports that the Lakers will interview former Indiana Pacers and Orland Magic head coach Frank Vogel on Thursday.

Lue had become the clear pick for the Lakers job after the Suns last week chose Williams as their new head coach. Lue and Williams had been the frontrunners for the Lakers job.

Lue was an obvious hire for the Lakers due to his history with star LeBron James and his career as a player for the team.

Lue spent three seasons as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers after replacing the fired David Blatt midway through the 2015-16 season. The Cavs went to three straight NBA Finals under Lue, winning the title in dramatic fashion in 2016 after coming back after being down 3-1 in the Finals to the Warriors.

However, after LeBron left for L.A. last season, Lue was quickly fired in November following the Cavs' 0-6 start.

As a player, Lue spent his first three seasons with the Lakers after they traded for him on draft night in 1998. He was part of the 2000 and 2001 Lakers title teams.