The Los Angeles Clippers’ season came to an unceremonious conclusion this week when the Phoenix Suns eliminated them from the NBA playoffs.
Coming into this year, there was a lot of optimism surrounding L.A.
Some even regarded the squad as a championship frontrunner.
In the end, though – it was the same old story. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were hurt for large swaths of their team’s campaign. Nothing went right for the franchise. And it all culminated in a ton of disappointment.
When the Clippers lost Game 5 to the Suns, rumors emerged about discontent within the franchise. That led to some very real questions about whether head coach Ty Lue may be on the way out.
On Thursday, Clippers President Lawrence Frank addressed those questions head on.
Tyronn Lue will be back as Clippers head coach next year, says Lawrence Frank.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t he be back? Of course he’s back. Ty is a terrific coach and we’re excited to have him as our coach.”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 27, 2023
“Yeah, why wouldn’t he be back?” he said.
“Of course he’s back. Ty is a terrific coach and we’re excited to have him as our coach.”
It will be interesting to see where Lue and the Clippers go from here.
Financially, they are very committed to two guys in Leonard and George who have yet to prove that they can consistently stay healthy.
Brittany’s outfit to the draft party stole the show. https://t.co/p878Gny2SY
— Game 7 (@game7__) April 28, 2023
Unless the organization moves on from one or both of them, there is no way to meaningfully improve the roster aside from working around the margins.
L.A. will have the option of returning Russell Westbrook next season, but that’s pretty much it as far as big moves.
Will the Clippers ever be able to live up to some of the lofty expectations that were set for them when Leonard and George first landed in Los Angeles? Time will tell.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
