Tyronn Lue and the Los Angeles Clippers re-signed Russell Westbrook this offseason after a successful stint to close out the 2022-23 season. Westbrook and the Clippers were able to find each other after the Los Angeles Lakers traded him to the Utah Jazz at the February trade deadline.

In 21 regular season appearances with the Clippers, Westbrook averaged 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 35.6 percent from three.

In the postseason, when the Clippers were left without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George once again, Westbrook averaged 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game on 41 percent shooting from the field and 35.7 percent from three.

Head coach Tyronn Lue recently joined Showtime’s All The Smoke Podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, where he spoke about a number of topics including the Clippers and recently re-signed Russell Westbrook.

“I’m a guy who I know him, but he don’t know me like that, but I would die for Russ,” Stephen Jackson said on the show. “I’m jumping in front of a train. Yeah, For some reason, I just, you know what I’m saying, the way he plays the game, the way he approaches it every night. Like, I just, you know what I’m saying he’s somebody that I wish I could have been his teammate.”

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue was then asked for his opinion on Russell Westbrook.

“I love Russ,” Lue said. “From day one, you know, And when you get a guy like that that plays hard every single night and gives you everything every single night and he plays. Every. Single. Night. And he plays the same way every single games. So like teams that acquire him, like you know what you getting. He’s a tough dude, tough minded, you know. And I mean 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 [Paul George] goes down and he went to another level, you know and so I love him you know saying that we’ve got a great relationship.”

The Clippers have long been looking for a primary ball handler and playmaker to help initiate offense for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Many players were in favor of adding Russell Westbrook to the team when he was traded to the Jazz and there were rumors of a potential buyout to become a free agent.

Soon after he joined, Nicolas Batum joined the ClutchPoints NBA Podcast to heap praise about Westbrook and what he brings to the Clippers.

“I’m not shocked,” Batum said of Westbrook on the ‘I Got Next’ Podcast. “When they asked me, ‘what do you guys think about having him?’ It’s pretty much what I’m envisioning. Is he going to take shots and turn the ball over? Yes, like every point guard in this league! It feels like when you talk about Westbrook, it feels like all the other players in the NBA are perfect, nobody else misses shots, everyone averages like 95 percent from three, and lose 0.2 turnovers per game.

“We’ve got to stop focusing on the negative of that guy. I think we focus way too much on the negative of that guy. I understand situations. It didn’t work in the last situation. And that’s okay. And whether that’s his fault, the team’s fault. I don’t know. And I don’t care. It happened. It’s over. He moved on. Now he’s with us. And he’s doing good. I mean, he’s doing good.”

Tyronn Lue continued to explain what makes his relationship with Russell Westbrook special.

“I can be real with him, he can be real with me and all he wants is the truth,” Lue added. “Like we tell him the truth and say, look, Russ is what we’re going to do is how we’re going to use you. It could be this or that. He’s good. He respects it, you know, And so sometimes you got to save him from himself because he get you know, he gets fired up, you know what I’m saying?

“So what do you, and if you’re doing too much, I’ll let you know, but be who you are. It’s my job as a coach to try to make you fit into this this puzzle, you know, as far as our team. But do be who you are and then give me five, ten games and that can put you in place to be successful. And he was great, man.”

Tyronn Lue and the Clippers are hopeful Kawhi Leonard and Paul George remain healthy alongside Russell Westbrook en route to the franchise’s first NBA Championship.