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INGLEWOOD, CA — The Los Angeles Clippers will begin the regular season with Kawhi Leonard sidelined as he continues to recover from inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee.
The six-time NBA All-Star is continuing his rehab from the inflammation that popped up during the late portions of the 2023-24 NBA regular season and has been stubborn to get rid of.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard suffered setback
Leonard was initially shut down for the NBA postseason when the inflammation in his right knee appeared in early April and did not subside. Despite trying to play in Games 2 and 3 of the postseason, Leonard was visibly not healthy enough to continue playing. After an offseason procedure in May, Leonard was working his way back in order to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics with Team USA.
That was short-lived, however, as Leonard was removed from the team four days into the team's camp in Las Vegas. Boston Celtics guard Derrick White was named the replacement for Leonard.
Lawrence Frank on what he saw from Kawhi Leonard at Team USA camp til now:
“Obviously, he was cleared medically. I watched him prepare for it, I was there at the first 2 practices. I was really disappointed that they didn't give him a longer runway… The swelling did subside… pic.twitter.com/0wBImqHxMQ
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 24, 2024
“Obviously, he was cleared medically,” Lawrence Frank said in the days prior to Clippers Media Day. “I watched him prepare for it, I was there at the first two practices. I was really disappointed that they didn't give him a longer runway… The swelling did subside the way that we thought from a timing standpoint and it just took a little bit longer for the swelling to get to where its at now. I'm encouraged that it's happened now and we want to keep it where it stays that way for the entire year.”
Kawhi Leonard, who was initially expected to be ready to participate in training camp and the season opener, has not participated in any team drills as he continues to strengthen his right knee.
Between Leonard being healthy enough to suit up for Team USA and Clippers media day, something clearly did not go according to plan. Head coach Tyronn Lue explained what happened in between camp and media day
“He felt good, he looked good, the swelling was down,” Tyronn Lue said on Thursday evening before the game. “Everything was going in the right direction. So he had worked hard to get to that point, and then once you start playing, you never know what's going to happen. But he was in position, we thought in the right position to go forward and it was a setback, so that was unfortunate.”
Leonard remains without a timetable to return to the Clippers lineup, which is the same messaging that's been going around since Media Day three weeks ago.
“No timeline,” Lue confirmed. “Like we said from day one, it's going take some time. He's going to progress, he's doing all the right things, he's working hard and he's looking good. And so there's no timetable or nothing like that. Nothing has changed from Day One. Still working to get to where we trying to get him to. And so until he is a hundred percent and he's able to go and we have no concerns about him doing anything different, then we're just going to continue to follow the path we've been on so far.”
Tyronn Lue on Kawhi Leonard suffering a setback during/after Team USA camp:
“He felt good, he looked good, the swelling was down. Everything was going in the right direction. And once you start playing, you never know what’s gonna happen. He was in the right position to go… pic.twitter.com/jP7TcobSqW
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 18, 2024
Without Leonard in the mix for the foreseeable future, Lue expects his Clippers to be able to hold down the fort.
“I think the guys understand we're going to compete, we're going to play hard, we're going to win until Kawhi gets back. We're going to hold it down until he gets back. And that's those guy's mindset. As much as Kawhi wants to be on the floor and the hard work he's putting in to get there, we're going to hold him down until he gets back. And so that's our mindset.”
Kawhi Leonard spoke with members of the media in Honolulu, where he said his return to play and progress aren't dependent on any one move or feeling.
“It’s not really based on how I’m feeling,” Kawhi Leonard explained. “It’s more of just listening to the doctors and seeing what I can do to prevent what I have been doing because I’ve been doing a lot. A lot of stuff that probably has me where I am now.”
For the time being, the LA Clippers are expected to start James Harden and Norman Powell at the guard spots alongside Terance Mann, Derrick Jones Jr., and Ivica Zubac in the frontcourt.
The Clippers will start the year against the Phoenix Suns on October 23rd, which is the first of a six game stretch where they'll face five playoff hopefuls in the Western Conference in the Suns, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
