The Los Angeles Clippers are set to face Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center on Tuesday night. The Clippers have been without superstar forward Kawhi Leonard the entirety of the season as he continues to rehab from a torn right ACL. As the star gets closer and closer to his highly anticipated return, it leads to one to wonder: Is Leonard playing vs. the Timberwolves in the play-in tournament?

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Is Clippers star Kawhi Leonard playing vs. Timberwolves?

The LA Clippers finished the regular season with a 42-40 record, playing all 82 games without the two-time NBA Finals MVP. The latest report from The Ringer's Bill Simmons is that Kawhi Leonard is currently partaking in 3-on-3 workouts, although that reporting does seem a bit shaky:

The Clippers forward was recently seen shooting around prior to Clippers practice, but requested that his shooting workout not be filmed by members of the media:

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue says he doesn't have an update on Kawhi Leonard at this time, claiming “that's not my job” when asked if he's not ready to rule him out for an extended period of time. Lue also added that as of April 8, Leonard was not participating in any 3-on-3 basketball and was strictly limited to individual workouts:

Kawhi Leonard underwent surgery to repair the partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament on July 13, 2021. The nine-month mark since his ACL surgery was April 9, and he has been hard at work to return this season.

The Clippers star was first seen taking jump shots during practice last Oct. 19:

According to NBA on TNT, Leonard was doing explosive box jumps as of Nov. 10.

“Um, jump up on this table,” Lue said, putting both hands on the three-foot high table he was sitting in front of. “Just seeing him active and being able to jump and progress in the way he is, it's just good to see. But that's about it.”

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Here's what Lue had to say about Leonard and his progression on Dec. 26.

“He’s doing good,” Lue smirked. “I haven’t seen much. Haven’t been looking. I don’t want to get too excited, you know, so I haven’t been looking.”

That might actually be true, because every time Tyronn Lue is asked about Leonard, the responses are pretty much, “I didn't see him” or “I can't remember.”

One thing is for sure: Kawhi Leonard wants to return this year and is working hard behind the scenes to try and make it happen. With only three games left in the regular season, time is running out for Leonard to make a return. He could, however, make a return in the postseason should the team win their play-in game and qualify for the playoffs.

ESPN's Ramona Shelburne also reported that Leonard's recovery is going well, but he'll have critical benchmarks to clear before determining whether or not it's worth it for him to return this season:

“Just trying to get healthy is what's next,” Leonard said on Media Day. “The same stuff you usually do for a specific injury. Work on it, lift weights, make sure you don't compensate, and you're strong and stable. Just keep following that path; that's all I can do. Just take it one day at a time.

“One thing I wanted, to secure some money, and I wanted to be able to come back if I was able to this year. If I would have took the one-and-one, I probably would have not played just to be cautious and opted out and took a five-year.”

There was another recent report claiming that Kawhi Leonard's return would hinge on whether the Clippers are in the playoff hunt as well as the status of Paul George's elbow injury. Well, Paul George has returned and played very well in his five games back. Norman Powell has also returned to the Clippers' lineup after a 22-game absence. The Clippers have earned a spot in the play-in tournament, and with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, would secure the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

As the Clippers prepare to take on the Timberwolves in the play-in tournament, the question is answered … for now. Is Kawhi Leonard playing tonight? No.