INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Initially, the Clippers executive showed the excitement most display on the first day of school.
Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, expressed giddiness about the upcoming 2024-25 NBA season. Frank then raved about the Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ privately owned arena that will finally allow the franchise not to have to share the same venue as the Lakers.
But then Frank offered a sobering reminder that has defined the Kawhi Leonard era in the past five years. The topic involved the latest on Leonard’s right knee after inflammation sidelined him for four of six playoff games and the entire Paris Olympics.
“He wants to participate in everything in training camp. But we’re going to hold him back from drill work,” Frank said, “and really focus on strengthening because the goal is to get him to 100% so he can have a great season, not just this year, but for many years.”
Frank stressed that “the swelling has significantly gone down” and that “it’s almost gone.”
He added that Leonard will still complete strength work during training camp to further heal his right knee. But will the 33-year-old Leonard, who’s under contract through the 2026-27 season, at least play for the Clippers’ season opener against the Phoenix Suns at Intuit Dome on Oct. 23?
“No one has a crystal ball,” Frank said. “We’re trending in a really, really good direction. I know we’re super determined to have a really great year.
"But the timing when it comes to your body and health, I don’t think you put time frames on it. I think you just have to respond to how he responds.”
The Clippers painfully realize that Leonard’s body doesn’t always respond the way they hope.
Leonard sat plenty of games in 2019-20 (15 games) and 2020-21 (20) to treat various ailments. He then missed the entire 2021-22 season after tearing the ACL in his right knee in Game 4 of the Clippers’ second-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz.
In the 2022-23 season, the Clippers managed Leonard’s right knee (22 games) and right ankle (six) with care only for him to tear a meniscus in his right knee. He then missed Games 3, 4 and 5 of their first-round series against Phoenix.
In the 2023-24 season, Leonard played in the most amount of regular-season games in seven years (68) only to nurse inflammation in his right knee. He then sat in the Clippers’ final eight regular-season games and in Games 1, 4, 5 and 6 of their first-round playoff series against Dallas.
Frank said Leonard “was cleared medically” to join Team USA for the Paris Olympics. After the Clippers and Team USA officials viewed Leonard participating in practices during training camp in Las Vegas in July, however, Team USA sent Leonard home, citing concerns about his health.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, a Team USA assistant, claimed foggy memory on Team USA’s concerns that prompted them to replace Leonard with Boston Celtics forward Derrick White. Frank said he felt “really disappointed that they didn’t give him a longer runway,” but he conceded that the "swelling didn’t subside.”
Since then, Frank said that Leonard’s right knee is “definitely trending in the right direction.”
“I think he’s encouraged now,” Frank said. “We’re starting to see some light at the end of it.
"We wished it would’ve happened earlier and quicker. But you go through all of the different training, treatment and modalities. You turn over every stone, every rock. You can consult all of the experts. He’s encouraged that he’s very much trending in the right direction.”
Not enough, however, for Leonard to practice fully during training camp.
As if this wasn’t challenging enough for Lue, who plans otherwise to conduct “hard” practices with the rest of the group. After losing two key free agents because of salary cap concerns (Paul George) and fit (Russell Westbrook), Lue plans to feature James Harden with more scoring and playmaking responsibilities in more pick-and-roll sets.
Though Lue won’t have to worry about managing four former All-Star players, he will soon have to worry about adjusting to the depleted talent. The Clippers further invested in their depth by retaining a valued center to an extension (Ivica Zubac), reuniting with a dependable two-way player (Nicolas Batum) and acquiring talented wings (Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Kevin Porter Jr.).
But the Clippers are not expected to contend for an NBA title with a roster featuring Leonard, Harden and role players.
It doesn’t help the Clippers already have injuries. Frank said Clippers rookie Trentyn Flowers will miss training camp after having surgery on his left wrist and that other unnamed players have “minor, minor injuries.” Most importantly, the Clippers enter another season without full clarity on their star player’s health.
“I think Kawhi is going to have a great year,” Frank said. “He’s hungry. He’s determined. When healthy, he’s one of the greatest players in the world. He has a great deal of pride.”
