Ty Lue's New Remarks Suggest He Deserves Some Blame Over Roster Mistakes

It's time to take a look at why the Clippers are where they are.

Nov 16, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue reacts during the first half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

You probably know at this point that things haven't been going well for the Los Angeles Clippers.

A season that started with optimism and with the team looking to build on another playoff appearance went directly into a tailspin, and now they stand at 6-19 over a quarter of the way into the season. Yes, there's still a chance that the Clippers could get into the postseason -- likely via the play-in tournament -- but the season certainly wasn't supposed to go this way.

One of the key reasons for that is some of their ill-fated offseason moves.

The Clippers signed veterans Bradley Beal and Brook Lopez last summer, along with franchise legend Chris Paul, but to say those moves haven't gone according to plan would be an understatement.

Beal suffered a season-ending hip fracture just six games into the season, Lopez has found himself out of the regular rotation for a team that didn't have much center depth to begin with, and Paul's farewell season with the team he helped make relevant ended prematurely when he was sent home from a road trip earlier this month.

And yes, President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank deserves a sizable portion of the blame for the situation the Clippers find themselves in, but head coach Ty Lue has earned some of that as well after comments he made on Sunday.

Ty Lue on the relationship between he and Lawrence Frank, specifically as NBA trade season begins:

“We always work close together. Lawrence has been a great partner. Us trying to be on the same page, understanding what we need, what we wanna do. We’ve always been on the same… pic.twitter.com/fl3mPfMLrt

— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) December 14, 2025

Ty Lue Deserves Blame for Clippers' Poor Roster Construction

Lue said that he has "always been on the same page [with Lawrence Frank] as far as the talent you wanna get, who you wanna try to get, the players you wanna try to get," per Joey Linn of SI. He added that they always "stay locked in" and are "hand in hand."

On the surface, it's certainly good that he and Frank have a good relationship as far as talking through what types of players they would want to acquire. Given that Lue is ultimately coaching the team, the two of them discussing that is welcomed, and it frankly should be the way things are done going forward.

With that said, though, Lue should get some blame as well for how the season has gone, given that he apparently had at least some input about roster construction.

Of course, it's easier to look at the situation with the benefit of hindsight, but the roster was essentially a house of cards coming in, given the lack of depth they had. And now that they've struck out on the Beal, Lopez, and Paul signings for a variety of reasons, those signs of optimism that the Clippers came into the year with are fading by the day.

There's still time for them to turn things around, but it's harder and harder to find the way that could actually happen before any postseason chances are completely out of reach.