It’s certainly been an interesting offseason for the LA Clippers. With a major decision regarding Paul George’s free agency made months in advance, everyone knew the team’s path forward would hinge on George’s decision.
When Paul chose to leave Los Angeles to play for the Philadelphia 76ers, it marked the beginning of a new era for Clippers basketball. The era of 213 was over, the next one was the rest of the Kawhi Leonard era without his former running mate.
Management made sure the team was set up to succeed even if George left. They found several solutions that would allow the Clippers to retool their roster and, ideally, still be able to compete in a deep Western Conference. All things considered, they did pretty well in the draft and free agency period.
But not everyone has such a high opinion of the Clippers heading into next season. Some believe they’ll take a big step backward, and potentially even miss the playoffs if Kawhi’s health is questionable. Tyronn Lue recently spoke with ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and refuted these ideas.
“When you lose a player of Paul George’s stature, people immediately think they can’t win,” Lue said, referring to the Clippers’ many doubters. “I’m looking forward to proving everybody wrong.” Those are big words, and they show Ty’s confidence in his team.
A safer, more neutral answer would have been one that expressed the confidence he still has in his players, and things of that nature. But the fact that he says he’s willing to prove everyone wrong has to be validation for Clippers fans.
It won’t be easy, to be sure. But given that so many people are ruling out the LAC and no one expects it to pose a major threat in the West, don’t be surprised if Lue’s prediction comes true.
