In a candid interview with former NBA star Baron Davis, Clippers head coach Ty Lue addresses the ongoing criticism surrounding Kawhi Leonard’s injury history and his relentless daily grind to return to full health. Lue emphasizes that Leonard’s consistent work in the weight room and on the court contradicts narratives that label injured players as lazy. He draws parallels between Leonard’s evolution—from a non‑shooter to a 40% three‑point threat—and the development of other NBA players like Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins, underscoring the importance of relentless effort. Lue also shares a personal anecdote, a "Kawhi‑ism," where Leonard advised him to "don't look at him" when dealing with a teammate, illustrating Leonard’s unique communication style. The conversation culminates in a direct comparison of coaching Leonard versus coaching LeBron James, highlighting shared work ethic but differing career trajectories and skill expansions. Throughout, Lue references contract commitment, mental challenges of injury recovery, and the broader fan misunderstanding of the rehabilitation process.
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T-Lou, since you've been in LA, uh, you know, you heard a lot about Kawhi and his health, uh, this past year. The critics have been super loud. Um, how are you—
how—
my question is, how excited are you that he will return in Just kidding. I mean, I thought she was gonna give me a date.
I thought you froze, bro. You like, you froze for a second. I'm like, what you about to say?
I was like, how excited are you he will return?
I'm very excited, man. It just, you know, the big thing, MBD, like I said, you was one of the baddest point guards in the league. When I talk about guys like hard for me to guard, it was always you, Gilbert Arenas, AI, you know what I'm saying? And you was,— and people don't get a chance to, you know, to see your full career because, like, so you got injured.
Yeah.
You know, but that doesn't mean you weren't putting in the work. That doesn't mean you wasn't— you don't want to play. That doesn't mean you wanted to be on the floor.
Totally.
And so, like, you have bad— you have bad players that, like, you know what I'm saying? Like, are elite players, are perennial All-Stars, are, you know, are superstars. And just because, like, Anthony Hardaway, like, you know, Penny Hardaway, like he doesn't want to get hurt. Like you don't want to be hurt. You know? So like, it just hard for the criticism to come his way. But I know I see him every day grinding every day in the weight room, grinding on the court every single day. And it just like, it's just unfortunate that, you know, he can't control what he has going on. Like he just can't control it. If he could, he would. Like, you know, so it's hard to see all the criticism that he gets, you know, because he's hurt, because he's not playing. Because if you got a guy that's hurt, and they're not putting the work in to get better and get back. That's the difference. Yeah. That's totally different. This man is grinding every single day.
Yep.
You know, every single day, all summer, every summer to get to where he want to get to. And it's just unfortunate. Like I said, it's times where he just can't control it, you know? And so that's just the part that's hurtful because he's not a guy that's gonna lay down. He's not a guy that doesn't care. You know what I'm saying? He does care. And that's what people don't understand, you know, from the outside. And it's just tough, man.
And you see former players that been through this.
Yeah.
Spewing like, "Oh, like, man, don't give me stuff like that." Well, they not real. No, I don't give a fuck. They not real. 'Cause you gotta really go through injuries. I mean, T-Lou, you remember when I was hurt playing in Vegas and, you know, trying to get back. Like, man, you trying to get back and then next thing you know, you may overcompensate a little bit. You may lift, one or two reps and some tear, you know what I mean? And so you never right. Like once you get hurt, you are never right because you're never 100% of what you were before you got hurt. Draymond Green, you talked about that with your injury earlier in the year, right? And it's just like, man, you gotta work to get, you gotta work to almost get to 85%.
Facts.
Right.
Right. Facts.
And you'll never get to 100%.
Nope.
You gotta work to get to 85. And hope you don't get to 75, right? Because your tired meter, your wear and tear and all that. So, you know, I think, you know, a lot of times fans don't understand that the mental part of it, the hard work part of it. But like if somebody's not on the court, it's definitely not the result of them not working.
Yeah, just think about the organization, you know, as a whole. Like you think they would continue to give him $50 million if he wasn't in there working, trying to get back? Like if he was a lazy, you know what I'm saying? A lazy dude, they wouldn't like, okay, all right, cool. You hurt, you done, we done. You know what I'm saying? But like this man dedicated every single day, man, to try to be on the floor.
Yeah.
And like I said, it's painful to watch because like I said, he wants it so bad, man. And like, you know, and he's doing everything. And so I'm happy he's getting close, man. And for me, like I've been hurt a lot too. I had 3 knee surgeries, micro fracture, and sometimes just it's the mental part. Like, can I do it? You know what I mean? Can I get over this hurdle? Can I do it? You know, can I get back to being who I was? And people don't understand that, that, man, it's a grind, you know? But he's been grinding. Like I said, I'm happy for him.
Fun Guy is one of my favorites, man. You know, I heard him rapping before.
Oh, really?
Yeah, I had Fun Guy in the studio. He was rapping.
Oh, man.
He may be mad. He may get mad at me, but you know, I had Fun Guy in the studio. He got bars, he got bars. He be spitting.
People don't know. Yeah, people don't know he's a funny dude, man.
I was gonna ask you one, last two Kawhi questions, 'cause you know I'm a Funguy fan. I need a Kawhi-ism for sure. And then the second question is, describe the similarities and the differences between coaching a Kawhi and coaching a LeBron.
Kawhi-ism, a funny one. So me and my boy Boogie Cousins, you know, that's my— And so I was mad at him one day and, you know, he kept going back and forth. I said, man, Boogie keep doing this. I was mad at Boogie, right? And so Kawhi came up to me and said, man, he can play. He's good. He's good though. I said, yeah, I know. I said, he's getting on my nerves, whatever, whatever. He said, I said, man, I'm just tired of looking at him, whatever. He said, just don't look at him. Like, how am I coaching players, don't look at him, you know what I'm saying?
Leave him on the court, huh?
Don't look at him. Yeah, we know who he's looking at. 'Cause you know, he's one of the most talented centers been around this game, you know what I'm saying? You know, and so we had got into it one day, but that's my guy. But Kawhi's like, just don't look at him. You figure it out.
We good right here. You figure out what you gotta do.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And the comparisons between like him and Bron, like I said, the hard work, like you said, is lined up just like this. Like both putting in, like you said, the work, you know, every single day, like grind every single day to get better. And just think about,, you know, where they come in their career. Like Kawhi, when he first got in the league, he wasn't a shooter, you know, and he expanded. He was a, he was a corner shooter. Then he became better at the wing, you know what I'm saying? Then every year he's gotten better and better. Now he's a 43, I'd be a 40%, you know, 3-point shooter, you know. Um, he was able to take steps of being a post player, getting better and getting better. Same with Draymond Green came in the league, he wasn't a shooter. Now, you know what I'm saying? Shoot 40% from 3, put the work in. And so, They remind me a lot of each other. Like I said, when it comes to that work ethic and, you know, putting that work in to get to where they want to get to.
Kawhi is funny.
Yeah, he's funny. I mean, Bron's funny, but Kawhi's funny because he don't do a lot of talking, but when he talks, it's funny. You know what I'm saying? So that's what makes it crazy, man. He be saying some crazy shit. I love him, man. Hello.
