Kawhi Leonard to be held back in training camp, work on strengthening knee

The star has dealt with ongoing knee inflammation for the past six months.

(Photo credit: Stephen Lew / Imagn Images)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Kawhi Leonard is “super excited” to get the season underway, according to LA Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, who spoke to gathered media at the team’s new Intuit Dome arena six days ahead of scheduled media day availabilities.

But, Frank said, the star forward is not yet ready for the daily toil of training camp.

“About Kawhi’s status, his right knee, the swelling has significantly gone down,” Frank said. “It’s almost gone. 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 at 100% so he can have a great season. Not just this season but for many years. We’ll have a detailed plan, step-by-step, having objective measures to go from one phase to the next. But, he’s super determined, super excited, and can’t wait to get started.”

Leonard missed the team’s final three postseason games after returning in Game 2 and playing in Game 3 during the Clippers’ first-round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Leonard missed the final eight games of the regular season with knee inflammation before also missing Game 1.

“We’re not going to have him do drill work,” Frank explained. “So, we’re just really going to focus on strengthening and loading. I think we learned some lessons [from previous instances]. He desperately wanted to come back and play in that Dallas series, and within a game and a half, the inflammation came where it wasn’t manageable, so we don’t want to put ourselves in that position.”

Leonard enjoyed one of his best seasons as a pro before inflammation knocked him out for the stretch run, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on 52.5% shooting across 68 games. It was the most games the two-time Finals MVP had played since 2016-17 when he logged 74 for the San Antonio Spurs.

“I think we’re in a really good place,” Frank said about the progress Leonard has made off the court with the management of his injury. “But we want to keep it in a good place.”

It was reported on Tuesday by The Athletic’s Shams Charania that Leonard did indeed undergo a procedure on his knee during the offseason. When asked in July if Leonard underwent an operation or procedure of any kind ahead of getting ousted from the Team USA roster, Lawrence Frank told gathered media in Las Vegas that he wouldn’t “get into the specifics” of what happened in the offseason.

“I think the encouraging thing is that we’ve seen progress,” Frank told reporters on Tuesday. “This was a really tricky thing in terms of the inflammation, where we were kind of searching for answers along the way, and I think with time, we continue to learn more and more of what works and what hasn’t. It’s truly unfortunate that he’s had to deal with this, but we’re definitely trending in the right direction.”

The right direction that the Clippers undoubtedly prefer would be to see Leonard on the floor alongside James Harden, leading the team to what the front office and organization hopes will be a 14th consecutive winning season and another playoff berth.

“We’ve been very fortunate for 13 years of not having a losing season regardless of injuries, regardless of who the stars are, regardless of trades,” Frank said. “The group has always found a way.”

When asked whether or not Leonard would be ready to play on opening night—the Clippers open the season on Oct. 23 at home in their brand-new Intuit Dome facility—Frank pointed to the steps Leonard has to go through in order to be ready to play.

“I think the timing is all going to depend on how his knee responds to each phase,” said Frank. “No one has a crystal ball. We’re trending in a really, really good direction. I know he’s super determined to have a great year, but the timing when it comes to your body and your health, I don’t think you put time frames on it. I think you just have to respond to how he responds.”

Due to the nature of the Clippers’ schedule and the 16 back-to-backs that they’ll have to endure, the question of whether or not Leonard will be able to play in both games of a back-to-back has to be considered, especially factoring in the recent history Leonard has when it comes to his knees.

Frank addressed that issue on Tuesday.

“I think you take all of the inputs, just how he’s doing and where he’s at,” Frank said. “We have so much data and information and just past historical data. So what’s worked? What hasn’t worked? The sports science community will talk about undulating. Obviously, he played 68 games last year, which was the most he’s played in eight years, which was super encouraging.”

Frank continued: “Typically what we do is we sit down, we get all of the experts in the room, along with Kawhi, and we just kind of take a month-by-month approach. Then, you have be ready to adjust one way or another. When Kawhi is healthy, he wants to play, but we also have to make sure he’s playing at his best both in the regular season and having an opportunity to finish the postseason and beyond. So, we don’t have the answer yet [on playing back-to-backs], but it’s kind of an ongoing dialogue. First, we want to get him to 100%. Then we will sit down and map it out, taking it a month at a time.”

Training camp opens for the Clippers in Hawaii on Oct. 1.

At the present moment, it doesn’t appear that Kawhi Leonard will be doing much other than the continued strengthening of his knee. The Clippers, and certainly the fanbase, hope that changes in the not-too-distant future.