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Jared Dudley decided to stir the pot a bit with the Clippers when he called out Paul George for being disrespectful in his recent book release. There obviously isn’t a lot of love between the Lakers and Clippers but the rivalry didn’t have a lot of juice this season. It appears that Dudley added some fuel to the fire as his comments have garnered reactions from a number of people involved with the Clippers.
Head coach Ty Lue decided to throw some shade at Dudley for what he said about George.
“A book? Jared Dudley? … I know I probably can’t cuss on here so I won’t cuss, but who cares?” Lue said Wednesday. “Just be who you are, play your game, who cares what people say, and what the outside people think. You know we know how we feel about PG — Our team, our organization. And that’s all that matters.
“He’s having a great season, a great year. He’s healthy. He’s done a lot of great things for this team. And that’s all we’re worried about. As far as for me, I really don’t care what people say on the outside. And, you know, I hope PG doesn’t either.”
George has been hit with a ton of criticism over the last couple of years. While he is a very good player, he’s never sniffed the NBA Finals and hasn’t won an MVP. Obviously, Lue is going to defend his play but that doesn’t mean Dudley’s comments weren’t valid.
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Dudley Clarifies Comments
Dudley’s comments on George certainly made the rounds in the media but he believes they were blown out of proportion.
“Anyone can do it,” Dudley said Wednesday. “Paul George, Kawhi. Sometimes you might say, ‘This person is allowed to talk more than that person.’ But when it comes down to it, players look for motivation.
“I played on the Clippers, so I know the difference of how we perceived them and they perceived us, the rivalry, the Lakers getting all the media attention, Clippers don’t.”
Considering how much trash the Clippers were talking to the Lakers before and during last season, George should be able to take some light criticism from Dudley.
Lakers Own L.A., Says Dudley
At the end of the day, the Clippers will never be Los Angeles’ team. Dudley made that very clear while clapping back at people who had a problem with his comments.
“For one, you can say whatever you want,” Dudley said. “We know Lakers will always be L.A. The Clippers could win 10 championships in a row. It’s the history. Giving me the right? I don’t know, 14 years, 900 games, played with over 25 Hall of Famers, future head coach, future GM.
“I think I put a little bit of work in where I can talk about it. It doesn’t mean what I say is right. My comments were more about how we viewed it’s motivation. Paul George is a helluva player, MVP candidate. What he said wasn’t wrong.
“The difference is it’s a little bit different than what you see from someone like LeBron and A.D. They didn’t say anything. They said we’ll find out who the King of L.A. is on the court.”
The Lakers stayed pretty modest last season and won a championship while the Clippers got bounced in the second round of the playoffs. The Lakers have every right to talk their trash now. Perhaps, this season, we’ll finally get the battle for Los Angeles playoff matchup we were supposed to get last year.
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