Sent by Houston to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the trade of Chris Paul on June 28, 2017, Lou Williams went into the California franchise backwards. He was not at all keen on going to play with the neighbors of the Lakers, he who had played with the purple and gold between 2015 and 2017. He returned to a discussion with Doc Rivers who changed everything during the podcast of Draymond Green.
“I had been traded to Houston during the season and during the offseason Houston traded me,” explained Lou Williams. “I was like, ‘I have no value anywhere. The teams don’t see me as an important piece.’ I think I was going to start my 14th season and I told myself that it was already a good career. And if you’re watching the press conference, I clearly don’t want to be here. I hold the jersey for the photo and as soon as it’s over, I put the jersey down and leave. Then Doc calls me and asks me if I’m still here, but I was already on my way to the airport. He told me to turn around so we can talk. If you know Doc, you know he doesn’t cut corners. He said to me, “I don’t feel your energy. Don’t you want to be here?’ I replied, ‘I don’t want to. I’ve been traded twice in six months. No, you weren’t on my radar.’ I wasn’t a big Clippers fan… He said to me, ‘Look, we’re doing a reset and we’re re-energizing. I don’t know what else I have to tell you, but you will feel at home here. I will allow you to be yourself. And we’re going to do something special here.’ Doc told me that the first day. For some reason, I believed him. For some reason, I believed it. And my time with the Clippers is by far the best I’ve had in my entire basketball career. »
So much so that after having extended there in February 2018, for three for 24 million dollars, and proclaimed on numerous occasions that he wanted to end his career there, he seriously thought about hanging up his basketball shoes when during the 2020 season he was traded to the Hawks in exchange for Rajon Rondo.
