Cleveland Cavaliers have Terry Talkin Ty Lue's contract, free agency -- Terry Pluto (photos)

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Another coach is about to discover it pays off to coach LeBron James.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in contract talks with Tyronn Lue, who took over for head coach David Blatt at midseason and led the Cavs to the NBA title.

General manager David Griffin made the gutsy move to replace Blatt with Lue, who was Blatt’s top assistant. The Cavs had an Eastern Conference-best record of 30-11 when Blatt was fired. Griffin announced Lue as the coach, not “interim coach.” There were reports the two sides shook hands on a contract extension worth about $3 million annually over three years.

But Lue never signed it. He wanted to wait until after the season to finalize a contact, which now looks like a very wise move.

Don’t worry about Lue leaving. He is still under contract for next season. In 2014, he signed a four-year, $6.5 million contract, making him the highest-paid assistant in the NBA. They did it to convince Lue to leave the L.A. Clippers, where he worked for Doc Rivers.

I hear the fourth year of Lue’s assistant deal (2017-18) is not guaranteed. Doesn’t matter. He’s working on a new deal, and both sides want to make it happen.

Luke Walton just signed a five-year, $25 million deal to coach the Lakers. The first four seasons are guaranteed. It would seem Lue would end up with a deal in this range. Walton had a 39-4 record coaching the Warriors this season when Steve Kerr was recovering from back surgery.

Some other coaching deals:

1. Scott Brooks signed a five-year, $35 million deal to coach Washington.

2. Dwane Casey signed a three-year, $18 million extension to stay with Toronto.

3. David Joerger signed for four years and $16 million to coach Sacramento. The fourth year is a team option.

4. Tom Thibodeau signed a five-year, $50 million contract to be coach, GM and ruler of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

So coaches are getting paid, along with the players.

Lue’s situation led me to look at how some of the other coaches have fared who had LeBron James.

1. Mike Brown was hired by the Cavs in 2005. In 2007, he signed a four-year, $8 million deal. He was fired in the summer of 2010.

2. Coaching James helped Brown secure a job with the Lakers in 2011, signing a four-year, $18 million contract. He lasted one full season (41-25) and was fired after a 1-4 start in 2012-13.

3. The Cavs gave Brown a four-year deal worth at least $5 million annually in 2013. He was fired after a 33-49 record in 2013-14. I’m not sure of all the details of what Brown was paid, because the Lakers paid part of it.

4. In 2013 after winning two titles with James, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra signed a four-year extension worth at least $4 million annually.

5. Coaching James enhanced Blatt’s already sparkling reputation in Europe. As I recently wrote, he signed two-year, $3.5 million deal to coach in Turkey. It could be worth even more, and it makes him the highest-paid coach in Europe.

ABOUT JAMES JONES

I’ve been told James Jones will definitely be back next season, probably on another veteran minimum contract.

The 35-year-old Jones has been with James for the last six seasons, four in Miami and two with the Cavs. The men are close friends. Jones can still make a 3-pointer, he shot .447 from long range during the 2015-16 season. He played in only 48 games, averaging 3.7 points.

Griffin prizes veteran leadership, especially on a team that can be as emotionally volatile as the Cavs.

It was James and Jones who were studying videos of the Game 4 loss to Golden State on the flight to San Francisco for Game 5. Soon, other players gathered around. The coaches believe that was one of the Finals’ turning points. James and Jones were locked in trying to find a way to win — and other players joined it.

Jones is a player who can give James advice, because of their long friendship.

Kevin Love posted this tribute to Jones on Instagram:

“I’d like to tribute the best teammate I’ve ever had, James Jones aka Champ. You taught me more than you know the past 2 years — what it takes to win, how to be a better teammate, how to balance the good/bad off the court, and most importantly … putting team first.

“Sacrifice for the better of the team, and in order to lead sometimes you have to learn to follow. You’ve been to 6 straight Finals. You’ve been the constant presence we needed in the locker room. You’re the ultimate work horse. The lessons you taught me will stay with me for the rest of my career and life after basketball. 


“No one can avoid the ups and downs of the Playoffs, and when many wrote me off after a tough stretch in the Finals… you and the team stuck by me allowing me to flourish and make plays when it mattered most. Like you told me not too long ago, “don’t be afraid to be yourself.” And now I’ll never be — thanks for everything. Keep being you Champ. “

ABOUT THE CAVS

1. It was no surprise the Cavs have lost Matthew Dellavedova and Timofey Mozgov to free agency. The shocker is the two signed contracts worth a combined $102 million. Dellavedova’s four-year, $38 million offer sheet from Milwaukee was expected. The Bucks, Pistons and Kings all had serious interest in the guard. Several teams were scouting him during the playoffs.

2. Most basketball people told me that Dellavedova would receive close to $10 million a year — the offer sheet was high enough so the Cavs would not match it. I heard Sacramento offered a four-year deal in the $32 million range. Not sure what Detroit did. But Milwaukee came up with the most cash. He can sign the deal on July 7 and the Cavs have three days to match.

3. It is possible they could try to work out some type of sign-and-trade deal with the Bucks for Dellavedova, but I’ve not heard much about that happening. It’s still early.

4. The Cavs really like Dellavedova, especially for his versatile play in the regular season. The 6-foot-3 guard is loved by the coaches and his teammates because of his hustle and physical defense. Opponents hate him, calling him a dirty player. Dellavedova is a point guard, but strong enough to defend most shooting guards. His 41 percent shooting from 3-point range makes him valuable in the modern NBA.

5. While the Cavs have Kyrie Irving, Mo Williams and rookie Kay Felder as point guards, they will miss Dellavedova’s defense and long-range shooting. The shooting guards are Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith — assuming they re-sign Smith.

6. I’m starting to think Smith will receive a three-year contract worth close to $15 million annually. Backup point guard Jeremy Lin signed a three-year, $36 million deal with Brooklyn. New Orleans signed backup small forward Solomon Hill to a four-year, $48 million deal. He averaged 4.2 points in 15 minutes a game for the Pacers, shooting 41 percent from the field (32 percent on 3-pointers).

7. With the salary cap expanding from $70 million to $94 million, lots of players are becoming incredibly rich. Even more important, the labor agreement demands teams spend at least $85 million on their payroll. So some teams are just tossing money around to reach that level.

8. The Lakers are counting on Mozgov to bounce back to his 2014-15 form when he was a very good defensive center. Maybe it will happen. He battled knee problems early last season. But as I wrote, this is an incredible deal for the 7-foot-1 Russian, especially because the Lakers agreed to it within 45 minutes after free agency opened.

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Cleveland Cavaliers have Terry Talkin Ty Lue"s contract, free agency -- Terry Pluto (photos)