Since the summer of 2019, the Los Angeles Clippers have bent over backward to accommodate Kawhi Leonard’s every whim. So far, the results have mostly been disappointing and the latest intel suggests that his status for this season may lead to further despair for the franchise.
“Kawhi Leonard has not practiced with the Clippers yet. Still rehabbing his knee,” wrote Clippers insider Joey Linn. “Ty was asked if Kawhi will play in the season opener and he said he’s not sure. Expect that response a lot going forward.”
Kawhi Leonard is one of the most effective two-way wings in the league when healthy but his poor attendance record makes him unreliable in the eyes of critics. The 33-year-old superstar has always been a somewhat controversial figure for his frequency of missing games but the heat turned up to another level this summer, ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The Los Angeles Clippers are already well into their pre-season schedule. At 1-1 so far with another game tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers, it won’t be long before the Clippers wrap up the pre-season and prepare for the start of the real campaign later this month.
No doubt, the team has already had numerous practices and they’ve already had a whole training camp to get in shape, build chemistry, and practice the playbook. Despite being the star, leader, and best player on both ends, Kawhi Leonard hasn’t been involved at all so far, and Tyronn Lue isn’t even sure when he’ll be available to play.
The behavior has been a regular routine for Kawhi, dating back to his days on the San Antonio Spurs. After an injury in the 2017 playoffs, Kawhi missed all but 9 games the following year as he waged war against the Spurs medical staff. Eventually, Kawhi severed ties with the franchise over disagreements about his injury, and he was traded to the Raptors where he won the title in 2019.
Since that title run in Toronto, Kawhi (a 2x champion) has been mostly irrelevant on the Clippers. Over the past five years, he’s only had one season where he played in more than 60 games and he’s missed multiple playoff series. Last season, it was a right knee injury that cost Kawhi four games in their series against the Dallas Mavericks and it’s that same knee that continues to hold him back from precious run time with his teammates.
After losing Paul George this summer, it’s more imperative than ever that Kawhi Leonard steps up for the Clippers and that means being available to lead his team both on and off the court. Unfortunately for the team, playing 82 games is a low priority for Leonard and he doesn’t correlate high attendance with winning games.
This season, with so much at stake, the Clippers are going to do everything they can to have a breakthrough in the West and break the long cycle of losing. Whether Kawhi is there or not, they are going all-in on the championship pursuit with nothing held back.
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