All three of your seasons with the Clippers ended with one or both of Kawhi or Paul, one of them out. How has it been dealing with that?” Tyronn Lue: “You know, it’s been tough. You know, it’s been frustrating, especially as a coach. I think as our fans, the Clipper fans, as an organization, because you know we feel like we have the potential to win a championship. We have all the pieces, all the right pieces, and we have two great stars like PG and Kawhi, two of the best stars I’ve ever been around as far as two-way players. But not a headache, like you can go to, like they’re not looking for media, they’re not looking for attention. Like you can go to those guys and ask them to do anything, and they’ll do it. And it’s just unfortunate because, you know, everybody had a load management and they kind of give those guys a hard time. But at the end of the day, if they don’t want to play in the playoffs, like, these are real significant injuries, you know? And so, you know, you try to manage guys to get to that point when we get to the playoffs, we can finish the season, and it just hasn’t been that way. And so it’s not a thing where they’re sitting out or load management in the playoffs. Like, that’s the dumbest I’ve ever heard.” -via YouTube / July 27, 2023

Just like the potential trade market is relatively slow, so will extension talks between the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard. The dialogue is healthy, as Leonard is extension eligible now; Paul George won’t be extension eligible until September. -via The Athletic / July 18, 2023

“I’ve seen them play small ball five and everything. I think I fit well. Obviously [Paul George and [Kawhi Leonard], they’re going to be Hall of Famers. Russ gets up and down the floor. So I feel like I’d be able to get up and down the floor with him and help PG and Kawhi get open shots and I’ll feed off of them. “For me it plays better, I think personally, playing with older guys, they’re more experienced. My dad played also as I grew up. [I’ve been] around the game and everything, so I feel like it’s gonna help me a lot. Just learning from the older guys and get some knowledge.” -via Clutch Points / July 17, 2023

Clutch Points: “I love Russ. From Day 1. … What he did for our season… he saved us. [Paul George] goes down & he went to another level. I can be real with him, he can be real with me.” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue on Russell Westbrook 🫶 (via @shobasketball) pic.twitter.com/eFRaTUHhdH -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / July 27, 2023

Paul George: I feel sorry for the kids that get that backlash. They’re getting discredited because of how they feel about me. I saw the backlash Brandon Miller got over the net. I saw the backlash Kiyan Anthony got, them picking me as their GOAT. You know, it sucks that they can feel like they can’t express themselves and be confident in what ultimately made them enjoy the game of basketball. -via The Athletic / July 25, 2023

Clutch Points: Ty Lue: 🧙‍ Played with Michael Jordan 🏆 Won a championship as a player with Kobe Bryant 👑 Coached LeBron James and the Cavs to a title He didn’t have a hard time ranking them 😂 (via @shobasketball) pic.twitter.com/lIqWo7y7M7 -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / July 27, 2023

“I love Russ,” Lue said. “From day one, you know, And when you get a guy like that that plays hard every single night and gives you everything every single night and he plays. Every. Single. Night. And he plays the same way every single games. So like teams that acquire him, like you know what you getting. He’s a tough dude, tough minded, you know. And I mean what he did for our season. Him and [Mason] Plumlee, Bones [Hyland], Eric Gordon. But what Russ and those guys did coming in for the last 20 games of the season. He saved us. You know [Paul George] goes down and he went to another level, you know and so I love him you know saying that we’ve got a great relationship.” -via Clutch Points / July 27, 2023