Los Angeles Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank met with reporters at the Intuit Dome on Tuesday. Among other topics, Frank discussed the injury status of star forward Kawhi Leonard, who has missed four straight seasons with an injury during the Clippers' loss.
“The swelling in his right knee has gone down significantly and is almost gone,” Frank said of Leonard. “He would love to participate in all of training camp, but we're going to keep him out of practices and focus on strength training. The goal is to get him back to 100 percent and have him have great seasons, not just this season, but for years to come.”
The Clippers continued to refer to Leonard's injury as “knee swelling/inflammation” last season, a description consistent with what Frank described Tuesday but which raises questions about how the team responded to the USA Basketball Association's decision to remove Leonard from its roster for the Paris Olympics.
Speaking to reporters in Las Vegas shortly after Leonard was removed from the U.S. national team, Frank said the decision was entirely the United States Basketball Association's and that the Clippers did not agree with it.
Lawrence Frank said it was Team USA's decision that Kawhi Leonard would not play in the Olympics.
Frank was very disappointed with the decision and thought Kawhi was great. pic.twitter.com/8FT9feL73i
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) July 15, 2024
Asked about the incident on Tuesday, Frank said: “Obviously, he was medically clear. I watched him prepare and was at the first two practices. It's a real shame they didn't give him a longer runway.”
Frank added, “A lot of our players deal with swelling. There are stages of swelling that are manageable and stages where it can worsen and put us at greater risk of further injury. That being said, from a timing standpoint, the swelling didn't go down as we hoped. It just took a little while for it to get to where it is now. We are encouraged now that the swelling has gone down and hope to keep it that way throughout the year.”
Kawhi Leonard makes a three-point shot at a USA Basketball camp.
🎥: Follow pic.twitter.com/NuRZvfKquE
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) July 6, 2024
The Clippers have a phased plan in place to strengthen Leonard's knee before he can practice, but it's unclear how long that will take.
When asked if Leonard would be ready by the start of the season, Frank replied, “I think the timing will depend on how his knee responds at each stage. Nobody has a crystal ball. We're trending really well. I know we're very adamant about him having a great year, but as far as his body and health, I don't think we need to put a time frame on the timing. I think we'll just have to respond depending on how he responds.”
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena. / Jane Kamin Onsea Imagine Images
Based on these answers, it seems that the Clippers do not intend to have Leonard participate in any training camp practices in Hawaii. Frank was evasive about the star forward's participation in the season opener.
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