Before suiting up for the Los Angeles Clippers in their season-opening win against intracity rivals Los Angeles Lakers, it had been a long layoff for Kawhi Leonard, having missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season after he injured his knee in the Game 4 of the second round against the Utah Jazz in the 2021 postseason.

With the Clippers having lofty ambitions of hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy at season's end, it's understandable why the team would err on the side of caution regarding The Klaw's health. Leonard was ruled out of the Clippers' clash against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, even though the 31-year old two-time champion planned to suit up amid knee stiffness.

Per Law Murray of The Athletic: “League source tells @TheAthletic that Kawhi Leonard wanted to play tonight, despite knee stiffness. Leonard was not going to be scheduled to play Thursday. Staff decided to hold him out as a precaution. It's October, so team is not messing around.”

While the load management situation can be frustrating for fans who flock to arenas just to witness greatness in the flesh, the Clippers are being shrewd, especially when they're slated to go up against one of the projected worst teams in the league in the Thunder.

Even if the Thunder had just blown the game wide open over the Clippers in the third quarter at the time of writing, wins and losses in the first month of the regular season are not what the Clippers are counting anyway, and perhaps these sorts of games can be used as extended showcases for those who may not be given as many minutes when the big names are on the active lineup.

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There is also considerable history with regards to how Kawhi Leonard views his team's handling of his physical wellbeing. Leonard fell out with Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs brass when he felt like the team failed to have his best interests in mind.

A week ago, Leonard took a shot at the Spurs organization, saying that he felt the Clippers were behind his back and that they wanted what was best for him, unlike his experience five years ago.

And clearly, him not playing against the Thunder is yet another evidence to just how much the Clippers don't want to risk anything when it comes to their franchise cornerstone.

In addition to Kawhi Leonard's absence, fellow All-NBA wing Paul George and Marcus Morris also missed the Clippers' fourth game of the season due to non-covid illness and personal reasons, respectively.