With Scissors training camp approaches, questions continue to swirl around a star’s health Kawhi Leonard following the inflammation in his right knee that sidelined him late last season and in the first round of the playoffs.
Leonard is dealing with swelling but is progressing to full health, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Tuesday.
At the start of last season, Leonard was the healthiest he had been in years and he appeared in 68 games. However, it was the third straight season he did not finish, not counting the 2021-22 season, which he missed entirely.
Leonard has struggled with an extensive injury history during his Clippers tenure, including a partial anterior cruciate ligament tear that sidelined him for 2021-22, a meniscus tear during the 2023 playoffs and this current case of knee inflammation.
“It’s really unfortunate that he had to deal with this, but we’re trending in the right direction,” Frank said. “The goal is to get him to 100% so he can have a great season, not just this year, but for many years.”
The team has developed a detailed plan to guide Leonard’s recovery, which will focus on strengthening and gradually increasing the load on Leonard’s knee. While Frank said the swelling has gone down significantly, the Clippers plan to take a cautious approach and limit Leonard’s activity during training camp.
Leonard tried to return for the Olympics this summer but was sent home from Team USA camp.
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“It’s almost gone,” Frank said of the swelling. “He wants to be involved in everything during training camp, but we’re going to hold him back from drill work and really focus on getting stronger.”
The question is whether Leonard will be ready for the season opener against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 23 at the Intuit Dome. Training camp opens Monday and the preseason opener is Oct. 5 against the Golden State Warriors in Hawaii.
Frank remained noncommittal about whether Leonard would be ready. He noted that the offseason was dedicated to getting the six-time All-Star closer to full health and not rushing the process.
“The timing will depend on how his knee responds to each phase,” Frank said. “No one has a crystal ball … I know he’s very determined to have a great year, but when it comes to your body and health, I don’t think you put time frames on it.”
Trainer Tyronn Lue remains confident that Leonard will eventually return to full health but maintains the cautious approach.
“We have to go step by step and make sure he checks all the boxes,” Lue said. “The medical staff will tell us when he is ready to do everything and what he is capable of. So our focus is on the guys training, making sure we do it hard and doing it the right way. No shortcuts.”
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In Leonard’s absence, James Harden is expected to take on the role of primary offensive weapon, a scenario Lue has planned for even when Leonard is available.
“More pick and roll and winning the basketball,” Lue said. “More shots. He’s also a dynamic playmaker.”
With Paul George leaving for Philadelphia in free agency, the Clippers’ offense now revolves around a new one-two punch of Leonard and Harden.
“When you lose a player like a PG, it’s always difficult to try to replace a player like that,” Lue said. “Jacob and Kawhi will help us offensively. … Everybody else has to fit around it to make sure we have the right spacing, the right guys with the ball in our hands and making the right play.”
The Clippers’ offensive order remains clear, which, according to Frank, has made things easier for the team. Harden, entering his first full season with the Clippers, has fully integrated himself after last year’s early-season trade, which initially let him play catch-up in learning his role in the offense and creating chemistry.
“It’s always hard when you get traded, and when you don’t go through training camp, you can’t develop those bonds with the team,” Frank said. “He completely immersed himself with the team.”
There’s rumblings and questions about whether this is a championship-caliber roster, and Frank isn’t shy about acknowledging the outside noise. If they have a healthy Harden and Leonard, he’s confident the moves they’ve made to add depth and build a roster to complement them can enable them to compete in the Western Conference.
“I have internet,” Frank said. “I’m not going to put a ceiling and say what we can and can’t be. … I won’t read too much into it, but I like the chemistry and camaraderie of what I see. The biggest thing we have is opportunity.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
