Tyronn Lue plans to return next season as the Clippers’ head coach and he hopes to have Russell Westbrook with him, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Lue addressed two of L.A.’s biggest offseason questions after his team was knocked out of the playoffs Tuesday night in Phoenix. There have been whispers that he might consider resigning if the Clippers suffered an early exit, but he showed no uncertainty after Game 5 about his plans for 2023-24.
Youngmisuk notes that this has been a particularly difficult season for Lue because of the frequent unavailability of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George due to injuries and load management. L.A. was considered one of the favorites in the West last fall, but had to go on a hot streak late in the season to finish at 44-38 and avoid the play-in tournament.
Leonard played just 52 games in his first season back from a partially torn ACL and was only available for two games in the playoff series. George played 56 games during the regular season, but he suffered a sprained knee in March that forced him to miss the playoffs entirely. The Clippers were 24-14 in the 38 games that Leonard and George played together.
“I think the encouraging thing, with PG and Kawhi healthy, we haven’t lost a series yet,” Lue said. “It’s always in the back of your mind, ‘What if.’ It’s easy to say, ‘What if,’ because a lot of guys get hurt. It’s just been our luck the last three years.”
“If you look back to my first year taking over, we did some really good things. Kawhi tears his ACL then he misses the whole next season. I think just taking some time and let our coaches get a break, let everybody get a break, reflect on the season, come back and just try to be better than we were this year.”
One of the reasons the Clippers were able to salvage their season was the unlikely comeback by Westbrook, who became a pariah with the cross-town Lakers before being traded to Utah in February. Leonard, George and other veterans lobbied the front office to sign Westbrook after his buyout, and he turned in several vintage performances late in the season and in the playoffs.
Westbrook signed a veteran’s minimum contract for the rest of the season and will be a free agent again this summer. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the best offer the Clippers can make to Westbrook under the new collective bargaining is $3.8M using their non-Bird exception.
After Tuesday’s loss, Westbrook said he has enjoyed his time with the Clippers and is grateful to the organization for giving him a chance to revive his career.
“One thing I do tell you is that I love it here,” he said. “I love the people, just the fans overall embracing not just me but my family and close friends. I know a lot of things have happened (this season), but I’m grateful. I definitely love being here. As far as making a decision, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. I don’t really know my process because it’s kind of my first time doing this. So we’ll see what happens.”
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