As Tyronn Lue continues to succeed in out to potential candidates to affix his workers, the Clippers finalized their new coach’s five-year contract and formally introduced his hiring Tuesday.

Lue, who coached Cleveland to the 2016 NBA championship after a midseason promotion and most just lately served as an assistant coach final season below Doc Rivers, additionally interviewed for openings in Houston and New Orleans earlier than agreeing in precept on Oct. 15 to change into the 26th head coach in Clippers historical past.

The 43-year-old Lue was one of many first candidates interviewed by the Clippers throughout a three-week teaching search during which officers spoke with almost 10 candidates, together with Denver Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr., former Houston Rockets coach and present ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy, Clippers assistant Sam Cassell and former Lakers and Cavaliers coach Mike Brown.

“We discovered that your best option for our group was already in our constructing,” stated Lawrence Frank, the group’s president of basketball operations, within the group’s hiring announcement.

Lue will likely be launched Wednesday morning for the primary time because the hiring.

He’s considered one of eight energetic coaches to have gained an NBA championship on the sideline and has been referred to as a vibrant tactician recognized for his fast in-game changes. The Clippers, hungry for a championship after falling flat within the postseason’s second spherical regardless of holding a 3-1 collection lead, referred to as his title expertise a powerful consider his elevation from assistant to move coach following proprietor Steve Ballmer’s choice to not convey again Rivers in late September.

Frank stated the group expects Lue to “drive us to new heights.”

“Ty has been the place we need to go. He’s a championship head coach with a rare really feel for the sport and the individuals who play it,” Frank stated.

Lue and the group are nonetheless deciding who will fill his teaching workers, a course of that’s anticipated to proceed into subsequent week. Larry Drew and Chauncey Billups are anticipated to ultimately be a part of the group and function two of his three front-row assistants, individuals with data of the scenario advised The Occasions final week. Drew is a former head coach who labored below Lue in Cleveland and succeeded him after the Cavaliers fired Lue following an 0-6 begin to the 2018-19 season. Billups is an NBA champion level guard who labored as a Clippers tv analyst final season and is considered one of Lue’s closest buddies. Billups had drawn curiosity from the Indiana Pacers for its head-coaching job.

Lue inherits a group that’s anticipated by rival executives to stay a powerful contender for the Western Convention championship in 2021 however lacked the on-court precision and chemistry to meet their championship aspirations within the group’s first season after buying All-Star forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

“The items we’d like are in place — dedicated possession, sensible administration, and elite expertise, on and off the court docket, within the NBA’s greatest market,” Lue stated in a launch. “My familiarity with the group, significantly Mr. Ballmer and Lawrence, confirmed that is the place I need to be. We now have work to do to change into champions, however now we have the motivation, the instruments, and the help to get there. I’m excited to get began.”

This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Occasions.