During a recent episode of the All The Smoke podcast, Clippers head coach Ty Lue expressed his admiration for Russell Westbrook and the impact the star point guard had on the team during the previous season. Lue commended Westbrook’s unwavering commitment and work ethic, highlighting how he played hard every single night and gave his all on the court.
“I love Russ from day one,” Lue said. “From day one. When you get a guy like that that plays hard every single night and gives you everything every single night and he plays every night. And he plays the same way every single… So teams that acquire him… you know what you getting. He’s a tough dude, tough minded.
“What he did for our season, him and [Mason] Plumlee, Bones [Hyland], Eric Gordon. But what Russ and those guys did coming in for the last 20 games of the season – he saved us. You know PG [Paul George] goes down and he went to another level. I love him. We’ve got a great relationship. I can be real with him, he can be real with me. All he wants is the truth.”
The Clippers’ coach also touched on Westbrook’s decision to re-sign with the team on a significantly reduced contract. Despite the lure of more lucrative deals elsewhere, Westbrook prioritized winning and staying in his hometown. His dedication to the Clippers, even after taking a substantial pay cut, spoke volumes about his commitment to the team’s success.
“When we find out we only had like $3.8 [million] to pay him, I’m like ‘Man, there’s no way we’re going to get him back.’ But he’s like ‘I want to win, I want to be in the city I’m from, I want to win. The Clippers never won before and I love what we’re doing here.’ So he came back,” Lue recalled. “A guy like him could have went out and got $15 million somewhere else, come back for the 3.8 just tells you who he is and he wants to win.”
Westbrook re-signed with the Clippers on a two-year, $7.86 million contract. He will earn $3.8 million the coming 2023-24 season. Westbrook’s previous contract was five-year, $206 million deal. It was the biggest paycut in the NBA history.
