Los Angeles Clippers president Lawrence Frank announced on Tuesday that star forward Kawhi Leonard will have restrictions on certain activities during training camp due to an ongoing issue with his right knee.
Sources informed The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Law Murray that Leonard underwent a procedure on his knee during the offseason.
“He wants to participate in everything in training camp, but we’re going to hold him back from drill work and really focus on strengthening because the goal is to get him 100% so that he can have a great season,” Frank stated, as reported by Murray. “Not just this year but many years.”
While the swelling in Leonard’s knee has reportedly decreased, Frank cautioned that there is no assurance that the two-time Finals MVP will be prepared for the season opener in a month.
“The timing is gonna depend how his knee responds to each phase,” Frank said, according to Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated.
Frank added, “We’re trending in a good direction … but the timing when it comes to your body and your health, you don’t put time frames on it.”
Leonard’s performance has been hindered in recent playoffs; he participated in only two of the Clippers’ six first-round games against the Dallas Mavericks due to inflammation in his right knee. In the 2021 postseason, he tore his ACL in the same knee, causing him to miss the entire 2021-22 season. Additionally, he tore the meniscus in that knee during the 2023 playoffs, which resulted in his absence for the final three games of the Clippers’ first-round defeat to the Phoenix Suns.
In July, USA Basketball expressed concerns about Leonard’s knee to the Clippers and subsequently removed the 33-year-old from Team USA’s Olympic camp.
Leonard’s 68 games during the 2023-24 season marked the highest number of regular-season appearances he has made since 2016-17, when he played a career-high 74 games for the San Antonio Spurs.
The Clippers are set to begin their season on October 23 against the Suns at their new arena, the Intuit Dome.
