Ty Lue on Jared Dudley's Criticism of Paul George: 'Who Cares What People Say?'

Paul George was always going to be under the spotlight during the 2020-21 campaign after he struggled to establish much consistency as the Los Angeles Clippers lost in the second round of the playoffs last season, but head coach Ty Lue doesn't want him to focus on any outside noise.

Especially if that noise comes from Jared Dudley, apparently.

Lue was asked about Dudley's criticism of George in a book and said, "I know I can't cuss on here so I won't, but who cares? Just be who you are, play your game. Who cares what people say?"

Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen & Roll provided more context, noting Dudley released a mini-book that was co-written by Carvell Wallace of New York Times Magazine detailing his experience winning a championship last season on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dudley said the Purple and Gold were motivated by things such as the Clippers billboards in L.A. suggesting it was their city and took particular offense when it came to George:

"We hear some of those guys talking about how they're the team to beat in LA. It's fine if Kawhi says stuff like that. He's defending a championship. We don't trip if someone like Patrick Beverley is talking trash; that's how he feeds his family. We get it. We respect the hustle.

"But we think it's disrespectful for Paul George, who hasn't won, to put himself on the level of Bron and AD. This motivates us. When we see those guys around the compound, we don't really kick it with them. The one exception of course is Markieff, whose twin brother, Marcus, is on the Clippers. This probably keeps tensions from boiling over."

It should be noted that George went to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals when he was on the Indiana Pacers. Anthony Davis, by comparison, won a single playoff series in his entire career until he joined with LeBron James.

There was never any doubting George's talent as one of the best two-way players in the league who is a six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection and four-time All-Defensive selection, but he was somewhat under the radar as far as superstars go when he was on the Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

That changed in 2019-20 when he came to Los Angeles and joined forces with Leonard on a championship contender and was thrust into a rivalry with the high-profile Lakers.

The noise only got louder after the Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs and George scored 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting from the field and 2-of-11 shooting from three-point range in the decisive Game 7.

George even told reporters following a January altercation with the Phoenix Suns, "I've never had any words, never any altercation, there was always peace when I am on the floor but for whatever reason, there's a lot of chirping and people living in the past...I'm in a new situation, different mindset."

Lue seems to want that mindset to include blocking out the criticism.