NBA Rumors: Nets, 76ers Currently Lead Pelicans for Ty Lue Despite Meeting

Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Tyronn Lue has reportedly generated interest from a number of teams, and he is apparently more likely to coach Joel Embiid or Kyrie Irving next season than Zion Williamson.

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets "are more likely landing spots" for Lue than the New Orleans Pelicans.  

Stein explained that is the case even though Lue was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers when current Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin was the general manager of the Eastern Conference team.

Lue and Griffin even visited while in the bubble, but the Pelicans may need to look elsewhere to replace the fired Alvin Gentry.

Philadelphia and Brooklyn might not be the only teams with which New Orleans is potentially competing as Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported the Houston Rockets could pursue Lue if they elect not to bring back head coach Mike D'Antoni following the season.

One thing Brooklyn, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Houston all have in common is the presence of stars in their rotations with the likes of Irving, Kevin Durant, Embiid, Ben Simmons, Williamson, James Harden and Russell Westbrook on the respective rosters.

Coaching stars is something Lue is quite familiar with since he was in charge of a lineup with LeBron James, Irving and Kevin Love in Cleveland.

All he did was lead the Cavaliers to the championship in 2015-16, which was his first season as a head coach after he replaced David Blatt. That he defeated the 73-win Golden State Warriors made it all the more impressive.

Lue led Cleveland to the next two NBA Finals, losing both to Golden State, before the team fired him following an 0-6 start in 2018-19 after James joined the Los Angeles Lakers.

Having a championship pedigree like that and multiple teams interested means the coaching candidate could command a high salary. That is notable from the Pelicans' perspective as Vardon reported they may not fully pursue Lue because his price tag may be higher than the $5.5 million annual salary they would look to give a coach.