Clippers' Ty Lue Defends Kawhi, Paul George amid 'Dumbest S--t I Ever Heard' Backlash

The Los Angeles Clippers' pairing of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in 2019 was expected to bring the franchise its first championship.

Instead, the duo will head into their fifth season as teammates without so much as an NBA Finals appearance—thanks in large part to their inability to stay healthy.

Clippers coach Ty Lue pushed back on criticisms his two stars have faced during an appearance on All the Smoke.

"It's been tough. It's been frustrating, especially as a coach, as Clippers fans, as an organization because we feel like we have the potential to win a championship," Lue said (eight-second mark). "We have all the right pieces, and we have two great stars. PG and Kawhi are two of the best stars I've ever been around. Both ways, two-way players, not a headache. They're not looking for media, they're not looking for attention. You can go to those guys and ask them to do anything, and they'll do it.

It's just unfortunate because everyone hears the 'load management,' and they kind of give those guys a hard time. But, at the end of the day, think they don't want to play in the playoffs? These are real, significant injuries. ... It's not a thing where they're sitting out for load management in the playoffs. That's the dumbest s--t I ever heard."

George sat out the 2023 playoffs with an injury, which came after Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season and the latter stretch of the Clippers' 2021 playoff run with an ACL tear. Their lone healthy postseason together came in the 2020 bubble, when they blew a 3-1 series lead in the second round against the Denver Nuggets.

Viewed as a championship favorite early in their tenure together, George and Leonard have seen their star fade as other Western Conference contenders have stepped up.

FanDuel Sportsbook currently has the Clippers listed at +2000 odds to win the 2024 NBA championship, tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the ninth-best number in the sport. That's a far cry from the potential dynasty the Clippers hoped they were building in the summer of 2019.