His words were optimistic, promising. Tyronn Lue’s tone, his introspective view following the Clippers’ final loss, bespoke uncertainty regarding his future. The future. Period.
Will Lue, who has been at the helm of the Clippers for three seasons, be back for a fourth?
“Yes, sir,” Lue said Tuesday night in Phoenix after they were eliminated from the playoffs with a 136-130 loss to the Suns in Game 5 of their first-round series.
But then, Lue thanked the fans, the coaching staff, the players and then the organization, including owner Steve Ballmer, President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank and General Manager Michael Winger, in something sounding a lot like a farewell speech.
“(To) Mr. Ballmer, Lawrence, Winger, just thank you to those guys for the opportunity, putting me in this position, all the support they’ve given me the last three years. It’s a collective group that’s put in hard work for a lot of days. It’s good to have that feeling,” Lue said.
Would anyone blame Lue if he left after the three rocky seasons he has endured while trying to bring a championship amid the promises and injuries?
When All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined the Clippers in 2019, talk immediately turned to ending the years of futility and winning an NBA title. And by the second year (Lue’s first), the Clippers reached the Western Conference finals.
The next season brought injuries, sitting out games and disappointment. This season was more of the same as Leonard (33 games) and George (31) missed significant portions of the season. George missed all of the series against the Suns and Leonard missed the last three games, because of injuries.
The team had announced both players had right knee sprains and George was ruled out of the series. It was reported Wednesday that Leonard didn’t have a sprained knee but played the first two games of the series despite suffering a torn meniscus in Game 1.
“I feel bad for those guys,” Lue said. “(But) it is what it is. It’s back to the drawing board. Come back next year and hopefully we can have a healthy team.”
But what will that team look like? Leonard and George will presumably be back.
Leonard, who will be 32 next season, and George, who will turn 33 next week, are both under contract for $45 million with player options for the final year. And with expiring contracts, they would be eligible for free agency in 2024. Moving either one still seems unlikely.
Could they shake up the roster again, months after shipping out Reggie Jackson, John Wall and Luke Kennard before the trade deadline? The Clippers’ options are limited given that they have 10 players on guaranteed contracts next season and the team is well over the salary cap.
Their focus then turns to Russell Westbrook, 34, who has proven to be an asset but will be a free agent who could demand more than the veteran’s minimum salary that he signed for in February.
However, Westbrook also said, “I love it here. I love the people, just the fans overall embracing not just me but my family and close friends. I know at the end of the year, a lot of things have happened, but I’m grateful. I definitely love being here.”
Lue was asked after the season-ending loss whether there was anything he wished he would have done differently and he paused and said no.
“Probably a lot of things, but I don’t know right now,” said Lue, whose short-handed team fought valiantly throughout the series. “Any time you lose a game, you think about what I could have done differently, what I could have done better. It starts with me first. That’s how I look at everything. It starts with me first, then you kind of go down the line.
“I mean, probably a lot of things, but I don’t know right offhand.”
