NBA Rumors: Tyronn Lue to Be 'Leading Candidate' for 'Several' Coaching Jobs

Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Tyronn Lue will reportedly be a "leading candidate" for "several" head coaching vacancies during the 2020 NBA offseason.

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported the news Wednesday and listed the Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans and Philadelphia 76ers among the teams that could be looking for new coaches before the 2020-21 season.

Lue took over the Cleveland Cavaliers midway through the 2015-16 season after David Blatt was fired. He guided the Cavs to a 27-14 record during the second half of the campaign and helped lead the franchise to its first championship in the 2016 playoffs.

Cleveland posted a 101-63 record over the next two seasons and reached the NBA Finals both years before falling short to the Golden State Warriors each time.

LeBron James left the organization during the 2018 offseason, however, and the Cavs fired Lue following a six-game losing streak to open the 2018-19 campaign.

In January, the 43-year-old former NBA point guard told Joe Vardon of The Athletic he doesn't like how his success with the Cavaliers is framed solely around James' presence.

"Every time we went to the Finals we were underdogs," Lue said. "It's always funny. 'Well, you had the best player in the world.' Yeah, LeBron has been the best player in the world for a long time, and he's only won three championships, and we were a part of one. So Erik Spoelstra has the other two. A lot of people had LeBron and didn't win."

Although the sample size is limited, Lue's .607 winning percentage across three-plus seasons with the Cavs ranks 17th in NBA history among head coaches with at least 100 games of experience, per Basketball Reference.

Lue rejoined the Clippers' staff last August. He was previously an assistant with the team during the 2013-14 season after starting his coaching career with the Boston Celtics in 2011.

No NBA team currently has a head coaching vacancy. Most recently, the New York Knicks hired Tom Thibodeau to lead the roster under new team president Leon Rose.

That said, a handful of jobs are probably going to come open as teams are eliminated from the playoffs, and it sounds like Lue will be on a lot of interview lists once the coaching carousel starts spinning.