Clippers GM Lawrence Frank had a curt reaction to the constant speculation of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George being rested. He dismissed their absences as ‘rest’, claiming they were injured last season.
“The Kawhi and PG rest thing is kind of bullsh*t. There’s a difference between injuries and rest. Kawhi and Paul, last year, were injured. These guys work extremely hard.”
Lawrence Frank when asked if Clippers got James Harden because Kawhi and Paul George rest:
"The Kawhi and PG rest thing is kind of bullshit. There's a difference between injuries and rest. Kawhi and Paul, last year, were injured. These guys work extremely hard."
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 2, 2023
The start of this season has shown Kawhi and PG have come into this year with a commitment to playing more games. Both are yet to miss a game and are participating in tonight’s game against the Lakers, a back-to-back that they would’ve usually been rested for. The first leg of the game was in Orlando, so the Clippers also had a fair amount of travel from the night before and both players are still on the court.
Both of them are doing everything to contribute to the Clippers on the court in a contract year, starting the season 3-1 but in a dogfight with the Lakers in the fourth quarter right now.
Kawhi Leonard Thinks The Player Participation Policy Singled Him Out
Kawhi Leonard shared his candid thoughts on the NBA introducing a new player participation policy this season, which not only requires players to play 65+ games to be recognized for NBA awards but also limits rest games for star players still in their prime.
“If the league is trying to mock what I did with the Raptors, it should stop, because I was injured during that whole year… I work out every day in the summertime to play the game, not to sit out and watch others play. No league policy is helping me to play more games.”
Leonard has a degenerative knee injury and as his career goes on, he will become more and more injury-prone. Load management isn’t what everyone in the league needs, but certain players benefit from it. Players like Tim Duncan did towards the end of their careers and Leonard definitely would right now. But in the spotlight this season, Leonard is unlikely to take many games off.
The Clippers Add Firepower As Insurance
Even if Kawhi and George are healthy right now, there’s no guarantee of what can happen over an 82-game season. The Clippers went and loaded up for the season by trading for former MVP James Harden in a trade negotiation that took nearly four months. Harden is not only an elite point guard and floor general who led the league in assists last season but also a capable scorer at this point in his career who can take the load off the Clippers’ star duo.
A lot of the depth behind Leonard and George were sent away for Harden, as the Clippers lost four frontcourt backups to their star duo. This increases the pressure on them to be more available this season. A fully healthy Clippers squad can challenge for the title, but being fully healthy is a big if.
An exciting season looms for the Clippers in their final year inside the Crypto.com Arena. In an era where they’ve always been the little brothers of the Lakers, George and Leonard, alongside Russell Westbrook and Harden will aim to bring a Clippers title to the arena before moving on to the Intuit Center.
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