Many fear that the Los Angeles Clippers will regress due to the fact that they no longer have Paul George, who joined the Philadelphia 76ers, but head coach Ty Lue isn’t phased at all.

In fact, this motivates him, and he wants to prove everyone wrong. The 47-year-old believes still having Kawhi Leonard and James Harden makes them competitive.

“When you lose a guy of Paul George’s stature, instantly people [think] oh, they can’t win or they’re not going to be competitive,” Lue told ESPN last week. “But that just challenges me even more. OK, people are counting us out or people don’t think we’re going to be good. That right there just gives me an extra dose of [motivation].

“I can’t wait to prove everybody wrong.”

Lue is very confident about Harden and that they will be able to have an entire offseason together, and it’s not so rushed.

All eyes will be on Lue and Los Angeles, as they’ll be under the most pressure to show fans and the league that not paying George was the correct decision.

Clippers Refused Trading Paul George To Warriors

According to The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami, Paul George wanted to join the Golden State Warriors, but the Los Angeles Clippers blocked him from teaming up with Stephen Curry. None of the offers satisfied Golden State.

They would give up significant assets to land George and give him the contract he was looking for, but Trent Redden had no interest in helping Mike Dunleavy Jr. evolve their roster. What Los Angeles did was essentially force Golden State into a no-win situation, as the only way to get the aging superstar was through an agreed sign-and-trade.

Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody, Chris Paul, and a first-round pick were offered for the 34-year-old. What’s even crazier is the fact Dunleavy Jr. was ready to give up their coveted young players to have the ultimate duo of Curry and George.

Despite the player and opposing team wanting this and the Warriors willing to give up anything, the Clippers didn’t want to do business with them.

Curry and Draymond Green gave the thumbs up to this trade, which would have been massive considering Klay Thompson’s situation. The Clippers being “petty” and instead seeing him walk rather than take the talent has the NBA world in a frenzy right now.

Russell Westbrook Opts Into Player Option With Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers have a huge offseason ahead of them, mainly consisting of James Harden and Paul George. The good news for their fanbase and front office is that Russell Westbrook is taken care of and will be under contract for another season.

Westbrook will make $4 million next season. He had the choice between testing himself in free agency or continuing his partnership with Los Angeles.

The 35-year-old averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists last season.