Ty Lue anticipating to retain Clips’ teaching seat subsequent yr amid departure rumors

Following yet one more painful season ending for the Los Angeles Clippers, head coach Ty Lue erased the swirling speculations across the partnership of him and the membership as they now face a serious offseason.

“Sure, Sir,” Lue briefly said if he expects himself to be again because the crew’s head coach subsequent season regardless of rumors of potential exit.

Lue’s three-year tenure as far as the Clippers’ bench boss has been producing loads of engaging narratives. Since buying the crew’s head teaching keys in 2020, the membership has been both arising brief or dealing with such unavailability disappointments, primarily from their high two stars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, which in the end hinders them to finish that quest for the elusive championship.

And this yr, the harm dry spell persevered at their camp. Leonard and George, each out due to their respective knee sprains, can solely observe on the sidelines and watch Los Angeles’ 2022-23 marketing campaign come down crumbling on Recreation 5 of their first-round collection in opposition to the Phoenix Suns this Tuesday.

As a lot as your entire season was troubling for the crew as a complete, Lue additionally skilled a little bit of hardships of his personal relating to the demise of his members of the family. However for him, he and the Clippers can solely have a look at the brilliant aspect of their unsure scenario: Your entire membership received an ample alternative to take a relaxation and be prepared for the subsequent season.

“It’s at all times at the back of your minds like ‘What if?’, you already know? It’s simple to say no matter as a result of numerous guys get damage,” Lue stated following L.A.’s 136-130 elimination loss. “Our luck within the final three years and if you happen to look again to my first yr taking up, we did some actually good issues and Kawhi tears his ACL and he misses the entire subsequent season.

“However we haven’t misplaced a collection with our complete crew and in order that’s encouraging. I believe it simply take a while and let our coaches get a break, let everyone get a break, simply mirror on the season after which come again. Simply attempt to be higher than we have been this yr.”

It’s been two years have handed since an entire Clippers crew managed to recover from the hump and win a collection. It took them seven video games to thrash Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks of their heated first-round matchup. They even managed to make it via as deep as their first convention finals in franchise historical past, however solely got here up brief in opposition to a Suns crew that outgunned them and capitalized Leonard’s eventual ACL harm.

This yr, the Clippers received no selection however to play as an undermanned squad but once more, and having no such probability to supply a daunting problem in opposition to the Suns that boasts Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Chris Paul as early as the primary spherical. However for the earlier video games of the collection that each Leonard and George out, Lue is nothing however pleased with the trouble that his crew has proven amid the towering odds.

“Our two finest gamers received damage. Take each Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson] off the Golden State. Take [Devin] Booker and KD off this [Phoenix] crew. Greek Freak was out two video games [against the Miami Heat]. ? Take your two finest gamers off in any crew within the league and see if they’ll win within the playoffs. No let downs,” stated Lue. “Like I stated I’m pleased with each man in that locker room scrapped and competed each evening. That’s all you may ask for once you’re shorthanded.”

“You’re taking the 2 finest gamers off anyone’s crew, they’re not gonna win. I don’t care the way you have a look at it. They’re not going to do it.”