The Clippers Became A Title Contender Because Doc Rivers Tried To Get Rid Of Lou Williams The Moment He Arrived In LA ... Huh?
[NBC transcribed] - “When we traded for Lou, I was not having Lou,” Rivers said. “I saw a guy that kept getting traded. And I appreciated his offense, but not nearly, never thought it was this good… When he finally showed up three days before training camp, I was not having him. I was like, ‘We’re not gonna work’, you know?..
“I brought him up in the office and I told him my feelings,” Rivers said. “I said, ‘Lou, you’re one of these guys that wanna do whatever you wanna do, and you don’t want to buy-in. We asked everybody to come in. Everyone did except for you… I don’t know how this is gonna work.’ And he said, ‘I’ve been traded five years in a row. Why would I buy-in to you?’, and I didn’t have an answer.”
I know Kawhi and Paul George dominate Clippers headlines and rightfully so. But you know why they are able to do that? Guys like Lou Williams. It's no secret that Kawhi wanted to play with Paul George, but they wouldn't have gone just to a shit Clippers team like years past. They wanted to go somewhere with role players already established and somewhere they could contend for a title right away.
The Clippers are able to do that with guys like Montrezl Harrell, Pat Bev and obviously Lou Williams. But that almost wasn't a thing. Doc Rivers wanted to get rid of Lou Williams until a heart to heart conversation in his office. It's not that uncommon to hear something like this, but Lou Williams is such a unique dude. Look at some of the blogs we have on him.
Imagine if he wasn't a Clipper. There's no way they make the playoffs last year. There's no way they are able to make a run at guys like Kawhi and Paul George. All because he told Doc Rivers why the fuck should he buy into Rivers? That's also very on brand for Lou Will and I don't blame him one bit. The man just kept getting traded despite having success. He needed the perfect fit and the Clippers were just that.
Long live Lou man. The dude is so good.