<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-cryptic-kawhi-leonard-injury-update-james-harden-leadership-role');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ cryptic Kawhi Leonard injury update hints at James Harden leadership role');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kawhi-Leonard-gets-injury-update-James-Harden-prepares-to-lead-LA.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers’ cryptic Kawhi Leonard injury update hints at James Harden leadership role</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T07:09:36-07:00">October 15th, 7:09am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T12:18:46-07:00">October 15th, 12:18pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his off time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>INGLEWOOD, CA — With <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/6-must-watch-clippers-games-2024-25-schedule">one preseason game</a> on tap, James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers are preparing for regular season <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-breaks-silence-on-knee-injury">life without Kawhi Leonard</a>. Head coach Tyronn Lue spoke with members of the media at Tuesday’s Intuit Dome preseason opener, where he all but confirmed that Leonard’s status for the start of the regular season is in doubt.</p><h2><b>Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard gets injury update</b></h2><p>Kawhi Leonard has not played in any of the Clippers’ preseason games, missing four of the five games so far. Tyronn Lue said Leonard would not play in the team’s preseason finale on Thursday night against the Sacramento Kings, effectively ruling him out for the entire preseason.</p><p>“He won’t play Thursday,” Lue said of Kawhi Leonard. “[The plan is for him to] Continue to keep rehabbing, keep getting better, and keep checking the boxes.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Tyronn Lue says Kawhi Leonard will not play today or Thursday, so he’s out for the whole Clippers’ preseason.</p><p>What’s he gonna do this week?</p><p>“Continue to keep rehabbing, keep getting better, and keep checking the boxes.” <a href="https://t.co/HdNEildjUo">pic.twitter.com/HdNEildjUo</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1845993877893009714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>What those boxes currently entail, however, nobody is quite sure. Through two weeks of training camp, Leonard has yet to participate in any of the Clippers’ practices or drills, instead only taking part in individual workouts.</p><p>In his time in Honolulu, Oceanside, and Seattle, Leonard wasn’t even seen touching a basketball during the portion of practice open to the media.</p><p>“Not right now,” Leonard told reporters in Hawaii when asked if he’d begun his ramp-up process. “We’re just taking it slow, taking it day by day, and just trying to get me back on the floor.</p><p>“It’s not really based on how I’m feeling. It’s more of just listening to the doctors and seeing what I can do to prevent what I have been doing because I’ve been doing a lot. A lot of stuff that probably has me where I am now.”</p><p>A source not authorized to speak publicly said the team is simply preparing as if Leonard will not be available until he is which, to be fair, is not unlike prior years that the Clippers have had to deal with his absences.</p><p>President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank said the team would prioritize strengthening Kawhi Leonard’s knee in the preseason as part of a lengthy effort to minimize the inflammation in his right knee.</p><p>The team has not reported anything yet, but as of right now, it does not appear that Kawhi Leonard will be ready for the regular season opener against the Phoenix Suns on October 23rd, and likely beyond that. The closer this team gets to that date, the more and more it appears this will be James Harden’s team in the immediate future.</p><h2><b>James Harden expected to lead Clippers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/James-Harden-1.jpg"><figcaption>Steven Bisig-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Harden took the initiative to start the Clippers’ mini-camp at Arizona State, hosting his teammates in a week of workouts and bonding before training camp. He’s taken on the role of lead playmaker and scorer on this team and done this as he works in the best shape he’s been in since 2019.</p><p>When asked about Harden’s ability to lead the Clippers now that Kawhi Leonard is likely going to miss a bit of time, Lue affirmed his belief in Harden.</p><p>“Yes, I think so,” Lue confirmed. “He’s been great. All of camp, we did a lot of running, and he told me in Seattle, when we left the football game, ‘you got 12 more days of his s**t and I’m never going to run like this anymore.’ But he’s done all the right things. He’s been a great leader, on and off the floor. He was in the same situation a lot of times in Houston, so he’s up for the challenge.”</p><p>Without Leonard for the time being, the Clippers have trotted out a starting lineup of Harden, Norman Powell, Terance Mann, Derrick Jones Jr., and Ivica Zubac. <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1846054887731413429" rel="noopener">Tyronn Lue all but confirmed</a> that those five players will be starting together when the team opens up the season.</p><p>“We’ve been putting the work in,” <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1846071772648820893" rel="noopener">Harden explained</a>. “Basically, it started this entire summer. It’s a process for us, but it’s fun. We have a lot of new guys, but it’s fun. We’re getting after it defensively. Offensively, we’re learning each other. It’s gonna be some excitement around this building.”</p><p>And before reports start floating about Harden’s unhappiness or impatience, Leonard’s injury rehab is not affecting or concerning Harden, one source with knowledge of his thinking told ClutchPoints. The 10-time NBA All-Star and 2018 Most Valuable Player is ecstatic to be home and remains laser-focused on leading this team alongside Tyronn Lue.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">James Harden on the starting 5 with him, Norman Powell, Terance Mann, Derrick Jones Jr., and Ivica Zubac:</p><p>“We've been putting the work in. Basically starting this entire summer. It's a process for us, but it's fun. We have a lot of new guys, but it's fun. We're getting after it… <a href="https://t.co/5BU5Yj2std">pic.twitter.com/5BU5Yj2std</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1846071772648820893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Harden, who hasn’t been asked to be a number one scoring and playmaking option on a team since he was a member of the Houston Rockets in 2020, says nothing has changed as far as his abilities go.</p><p>“[I bring] myself,” James Harden said with a laugh. “I’m the same person. That was just me sacrificing to try to chase something that I haven’t accomplished before. But I’m the same person.”</p><p>The Clippers’ opener against the Phoenix Suns is set to tip off at 7:30 PM PST on October 23rd. It’s the first of a six-game stretch to open up the season against the Suns twice, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers, and Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ cryptic Kawhi Leonard injury update hints at James Harden leadership role

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-gets-brutally-honest-new-teammates');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard gets brutally honest on new Clippers teammates');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Clippers-news-Kawhi-Leonard-gets-brutally-honest-on-new-teammates.jpg"></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard gets brutally honest on new Clippers teammates</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T13:32:54-07:00">October 6th, 1:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T13:32:54-07:00">October 6th, 1:32pm</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/bingeable">Sonny Giuliano</a>Sonny Giuliano is an experienced sports writer for ClutchPoints who has been covering the NFL, NCAA Football, NBA, and NCAA Basketball for well over a decade. Originally from the small town of Elba, New York, Sonny received his degree from Florida Gulf Coast University and currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has never been known to be one of the league’s more vocal or self-promoting stars. Sure, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-kawhi-leonard-got-the-fun-guy-nickname">Kawhi may be a fun guy behind the scenes</a>, but in the public eye, he’s rarely come close to living up to that moniker. And if anyone was expecting him to be a top-tier hype man for some of his new Clippers teammates, well, you were sorely mistaken.</p><p>At a recent recent media session, Kawhi Leonard was asked if any of his teammates have stood out during the first week of Clippers training camp, giving <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/raptors-news-kawhi-leonard-one-vote-from-being-the-unanimous-nba-finals-mvp">the two-time NBA Finals MVP</a> the chance to enthusiastically name drop any of the guys he’ll be sharing the floor with this season. But you know as well as I do that the words “Kawhi Leonard” and “enthusiastically” aren’t exactly synonymous.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kawhi Leonard says that he has been watching the new guys in camp such as Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr., as well as observing everyone’s progression, but adds “nobody stood out to me so far” <a href="https://t.co/X6tMzFEqLS">pic.twitter.com/X6tMzFEqLS</a></p><p>— Law Murray 🏟️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) <a href="https://twitter.com/LawMurrayTheNU/status/1842725506707607608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Not only was there not even a whisper of enthusiasm in Kawhi’s voice as he spoke about the likes of new Clippers additions Derrick Jones Jr. or Kris Dunn, but then he doubled-down, adding “nobody stood out to me so far,” as if it weren’t perfectly clear based on the completely and total lack of excitement in the substance of what he was actually saying. I just love Kawhi.</p><h2><b>Clippers need full Kawhi season for successful 2024-25 campaign</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kawhi-Leonard-in-street-clothes-on-the-Clippers-bench.jpg?w=1024"><figcaption>© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-paul-george-predicts-fun-year-in-first-season-with-philadelphia">former LA running mate Paul George now in Philadelphia</a>, even more of the burden will be on the shoulders of Kawhi Leonard, and given the injury history of the 33-year-old veteran, that doesn’t necessarily bode well for the Clippers. Leonard played in 68 games last year, his highest total since the 2016-17 season, but he was limited to just two games in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-most-to-blame-for-disappointing-playoff-series-loss-to-mavericks">Clippers’ opening round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks</a>.</p><p>It doesn’t help matters that there are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-breaks-silence-knee-concerns">already concerns about Kawhi Leonard’s knee</a>, and we’re barely into the month of October.</p><p>That means, in all likelihood, the Clippers will be entering many games this year with James Harden and a hodgepodge supporting cast that feels like it’s miles away from contending for an NBA Title. Sure, Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn are nice depth pieces, but let’s be fair, they aren’t guys who elicit a great deal of enthusiasm.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard gets brutally honest on new Clippers teammates

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-breaks-silence-knee-concerns');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard breaks silence on knee concerns');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kawhi-Leonard-breaks-silence-on-knee-concerns.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard breaks silence on knee concerns</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-06T10:53:48-07:00">October 6th, 10:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-06T10:53:48-07:00">October 6th, 10:53am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Heading into this season, everyone is concerned about LA Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard’s knee. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-nba-insider-kawhi-leonards-puzzling-update-on-his-ongoing-injury-issues">Leonard had an off-season procedure on his knee</a>, and inflammation after the operation kept him out of the Paris Olympics. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-breaks-silence-on-knee-injury">Leonard has been held out of most of this off-season’s training camps</a> to work on getting his knee stronger and ready for the season. He said at halftime of the Clippers preseason game in Honolulu that things are looking good, but <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41632961/kawhi-leonard-says-knee-good-taking-things-slow" rel="noopener">whether he will play</a> in back-to-backs this season remains to be seen.</p><p>“I feel good,” Leonard said at halftime of the Clippers 91-90 preseason loss to the Golden State Warriors. “Just been taking my time, getting stronger, and getting ready.</p><p>“… We’re just taking it slow, day by day, and just trying to get me back on the floor. Once those conversations come, we’ll see what they’re talking about [on the best approach for back-to-backs].”</p><p>Leonard played in 68 games last season, the most he had played in a season since 2017, and he was an All-NBA performer. The knee issues flared up in the playoffs, and he only got into two games. The Mavericks sent the Clippers home in the first round. The question this season is how to get Leonard through the regular season and keep him healthy for the postseason.</p><h2><b>Who else can step up if the Clippers lose Kawhi Leonard to injury?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kawhi-Leonard-Clippers-Media-Day.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After the Clippers lost Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers, their forward rotation is thin whenever Leonard sits. That led to LA bringing in Derrick Jones Jr. and  Kevin Porter Jr. to address that issue. However, neither player can match George’s level or when Leonard’s healthy. So, what do the Clippers get from Jones and Porter?</p><p>Jones had a career year with the Dallas Mavericks last season, averaging 8.6 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from three. Jones upped those numbers in the playoffs, averaging 9.1 points and shooting 36.9 percent from three. His calling card, however, was his staunch defense. Jones Jr. was an elite one-on-one defender last year, and he even called himself the best in the league against ball-handlers.</p><p>Porter, meanwhile, has appeared in 196 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets, averaging 15.3 points, 5.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals. Originally selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of USC, Porter Jr. played in Greece last season, averaging 22.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.8 steals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard breaks silence on knee concerns

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-nba-insider-kawhi-leonards-puzzling-update-on-his-ongoing-injury-issues');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA insider shares Kawhi Leonard’s puzzling Clippers update on injury issues');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBA-Insider-shares-Kawhi-Leonards-puzzling-update-on-his-ongoing-injury-issues.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA insider shares Kawhi Leonard’s puzzling Clippers update on injury issues</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-01T10:53:12-07:00">October 1st, 10:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-01T10:53:12-07:00">October 1st, 10:53am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers are currently preparing to open up the 2023-24 NBA season, which is set to begin in just three weeks. Unfortunately for the team, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-breaks-silence-on-knee-injury">Leonard’s well-documented</a> knee issues appear to have arisen once again this offseason, as it was recently reported <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-james-harden-legacy-paul-george-departure">that the Clippers star</a> is dealing with inflammation but hopes to be available for opening night, per Beth Harris of the AP (via NBA.com).</p><p>At media day, Leonard spoke on how he plans to be much more cautious this year with the knee in the hopes of being available for the post season, but one person who is <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/kawhi-leonard-knee-opening-night" rel="noopener">a bit puzzled</a> by that proposition is NBA insider Tim Macmahon of ESPN, who recently took to the Hoop Collective Podcast to relay his concerns.</p><p>“Hold on though, the important parts of the season? If Kawhi’s not playing on a relatively consistent basis he’ll be on a couch on a beach during the important parts of the season,” said Macmahon. “Like they have to make the playoffs in the West.”</p><p>“There might not be an important part of the season,” added NBA insider Ohm Youngmisuk.</p><h2><b>Can the Clippers survive an injury-plagued year?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Leonard-at-media-day.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>No.</p><p>This offseason, the Clippers watched Paul George walk out of the door for the Philadelphia 76ers and got nothing in return after the two sides were unable to come to an agreement on a new contract.</p><p>While the move made some savvy signings of veterans including Nic Batum and Derrick Jones Jr., there are no clear avenues for Los Angeles to be able to replicate the production of George, who himself stayed very healthy throughout both the regular year and playoffs a season ago.</p><p>While Leonard remains a force when healthy, that caveat is becoming more and more prevalent by the year, as the former Finals MVP has finished just one of his five playoff runs with the Clippers healthy.</p><p>Making matters even more complicated are the questions surrounding James Harden and whether he will be able to notch up the scoring and overall playmaking this year in George’s absence at the age of 35 and with a ton of NBA mileage on his body.</p><p>In any case, the Clippers are slated to open up their season on October 23 at home vs the Phoenix Suns. They will certainly be hoping that Leonard is in the lineup when that game tips off at 10:00 PM ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA insider shares Kawhi Leonard’s puzzling Clippers update on injury issues

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-breaks-silence-on-knee-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers star Kawhi Leonard breaks silence on knee injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kawhi-Leonard-Los-Angeles-Clippers-4.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers star Kawhi Leonard breaks silence on knee injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-30T14:29:06-07:00">September 30th, 2:29pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-01T07:09:46-07:00">October 1st, 7:09am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his off time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>INGLEWOOD, CA — Los Angeles Clippers star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonards-injury-gets-important-update-before-training-camp">Kawhi Leonard will not be</a> participating in drill work when the team kicks off training camp this week, but he will be around and ramping up for a return.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard couldn’t finish the 2024 postseason healthy and wasn’t able to suit up for the 2024 Paris Olympics with USA Basketball, but he does plan on being available when the Clippers start their regular season.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard’s injury status</b></h2><p>Clippers star Kawhi Leonard spoke with members of the media at the team’s Media Day inside their all new Intuit Dome. Leonard explained why the Clippers are playing it safe with him as he works his way into form.</p><p>“We’re taking it day by day,” Leonard said. “Everything’s been going great for the past month, but we’re being very cautious for [certain] reasons. In the past, I haven’t been able to finish some playoff runs, so making sure I stay healthy for those important moments.”</p><p>President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank met with media last week, where the team issued an update on Leonard’s status.</p><p>“His right knee, the swelling has significantly gone down,” <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1838727188138565677" rel="noopener">Frank said of Kawhi Leonard</a>. “It’s almost gone. He wants to participate in everything in training camp, but we’re gonna hold him back from drill work and really focus on strengthening because the goal is to get him 100 percent so he can have a great season not just this year but for many years. We’ll have a detailed plan, step-by-step, have objective measures to go from one phase to the next but he’s super determined, super excited, and can’t wait to get started.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Lawrence Frank on Kawhi Leonard in his opening statement:</p><p>"His right knee, the swelling has significantly gone down. It's almost gone. He wants to participate in everything in training camp but we're gonna hold him back from drill work and really focus on strengthening because… <a href="https://t.co/OH3M0pRkqt">pic.twitter.com/OH3M0pRkqt</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1838727188138565677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Leonard played 68 games last season, including back-to-backs, before needing to sit out the final two weeks of the regular season due to inflammation in his right knee. Leonard pushed through the discomfort to play in the playoffs, but was clearly not right.</p><p>The team shut Leonard down shortly after he played in Games 2 and 3, and the star forward has been working on strengthening that knee since.</p><h2><b>Will Kawhi Leonard play on Clippers opening night?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kawhi-Leonard-and-Ivica-Zubac-at-Los-Angeles-Clippers-media-day-1.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Frank said Leonard’s availability for opening night will be determined closer to the game’s date, but Leonard expressed optimism about his availability against the Phoenix Suns.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Kawhi Leonard said. “I never plan to miss games, but it’s just about my body. I’m a human being and we’re playing basketball, so it all depends on what we want, what we figure out, and how my body’s feeling, but right now, I think it’s a positive thing to think that I will play.”</p><p>A lot of players in Leonard’s position may have given up. Given the lengthy injury history he’s faced, one couldn’t fault him. Heck, you have ESPN’s top paid guys on television calling for his retirement every few months.</p><p>But Leonard continues to persevere, and knows he has a lot of basketball left in his body.</p><p>“I can play. I mean I played my most games I’ve in a long time last year. I played like 68 games, was one of the guys that probably didn’t take a rest break earlier on in that season, but just keep going. Obviously, the last two years I came back from ACL, been injured, and it’s a progression for me.</p><p>“It was successful for us last year. Obviously, from a fan base or just from my own competitive nature, we didn’t reach a goal, but the grand scheme of things and how my body’s been doing it. It was a good year. I went from zero games to 52 to 68, so let’s see if I could keep it going from there.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kawhi Leonard on his motivation to keep fighting through injuries:</p><p>“I can play. I mean I played my most games I've in a long time last year. I played like 68 games, was one of the guys that probably didn't take a rest break earlier on in that season… Obviously, from a fan base… <a href="https://t.co/UL8pa341uv">pic.twitter.com/UL8pa341uv</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1840864394890395927?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Kawhi Leonard’s 2023-24 campaign was very successful, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game on 52.5 percent shooting from the field. The 68 games played was the most he’d played since the 2016-17 season, when he played 74 games with the San Antonio Spurs.</p><p>Despite the ups and downs, Leonard acknowledges that he has to keep fighting.</p><p>“This is just my journey,” Leonard explained. “I don’t wanna be in the situation that I’m in, but I gotta take it for what it is. A lot of people are watching, supporters end outers. I motivate a lot of people, so I gotta keep doing what I’m doing.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kawhi Leonard on how things were left off with USA Basketball:</p><p>“Good. I thanked them for the opportunity. Things came out of nowhere that was out of my control. That's all I can do. I'm glad they were able to get the gold medal.” <a href="https://t.co/bqBKrgBI77">pic.twitter.com/bqBKrgBI77</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1840843238875553940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers will play five preseason games before opening up their season against the Phoenix Suns on October 23rd.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard breaks silence on knee injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-new-injury-draws-wild-clippers-fan-reactions');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard’s new injury draws wild Clippers fan reactions');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kawhi-Leonards-new-injury-draws-wild-fan-reactions-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard’s new injury draws wild Clippers fan reactions</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-25T15:50:48-07:00">September 25th, 3:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-25T15:52:12-07:00">September 25th, 3:52pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Clippers president of basketball operations <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonards-injury-gets-important-update-before-training-camp">Lawrence Frank delivered a discouraging injury</a> update on Kawhi Leonard. Leonard missed the final eight regular-season games due to a knee injury, which forced him to miss most of the Clippers’ first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks despite playing in Games 2 and 3. Frank met with reporters one week before Clippers Media Day on Tuesday and <a href="https://twitter.com/tomerazarly/status/1838707029520838894?s=46" rel="noopener">addressed</a> Leonard’s recovery, per Tomer Azarly.</p><p>“Kawhi Leonard will be held out of certain drill work to open Clippers training camp. They will focus on strengthening and loading,” Azarly said. “Lawrence Frank says the inflammation has gone down significantly, but not completely. Says he’s in a really good place but they want to keep it in a good place.”</p><p>The news surrounding Leonard not being cleared to participate in next week’s training camp was not well-received by users on social media.</p><p>“The fact that he STILL has inflammation is concerning,” Sports injury analyst Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT, <a href="https://twitter.com/gameinjurydoc/status/1838764913143222316?s=46" rel="noopener">said</a> on his X, formerly Twitter, to which Trey Kerby <a href="https://twitter.com/treykerby/status/1838713810510557601?s=46" rel="noopener">replied</a>, “I need the “James Harden looks good” post so bad, right now.”</p><p>Leonard <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1838730198495248488" rel="noopener">underwent a procedure on his knee</a> in the offseason, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Then, Clippers fans started weighing in with sheer disappointment.</p><p>“So much for being in the playoffs, eh?” <a href="https://twitter.com/drunken_trent/status/1838713421992489230?s=46" rel="noopener">one fan</a> asked, to which another <a href="https://twitter.com/antintheleauge/status/1838730288475541578?s=46" rel="noopener">replied</a>, “Holy s*** bro just retire.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kawhi every season with an injury: <a href="https://t.co/Fyn4CQNSRp">pic.twitter.com/Fyn4CQNSRp</a></p><p>— God Ghost Writer 👁‍🗨 (@kingchudy) <a href="https://twitter.com/kingchudy/status/1838730443551600946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“What was healthy Kawhi Leonard like?”  <a href="https://t.co/67dz2yU8v0">pic.twitter.com/67dz2yU8v0</a></p><p>— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) <a href="https://twitter.com/BetMGM/status/1838730554625146944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard’s injury history with Clippers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Clippers-forward-Kawhi-Leonard-Clippers-guard-James-Harden.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It feels like we haven’t seen the best version of Kawhi Leonard in years. Thus, it’s difficult to determine how the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/predicting-clippers-record-2024-25-season-schedule-release">Clippers fare amongst the best in the Western Conference</a>. What’s worse is how the Clippers misled the public by downplaying the severity of Leonard’s injuries. Since his torn ACL in 2021, Kawhi has dealt with many setbacks and deceiving reports from the team, which the Dime Dropper podcast <a href="https://twitter.com/dimedropperpod/status/1838961508065460239?s=46" rel="noopener">points out</a> via X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>“2021 Playoffs : Listed with right knee sprain and were bluffing that he could return in a potential NBA FINALS, after season come out and say he tore his ACL and needs surgery 2021-2022: Bluffed that he could potentially return in the playoffs, was on a mins restriction to begin the following season 5 months later,” the podcast’s account pointed out in a timeline that ends with what transpired over the summer.</p><p>“2024 Summer: Apparently pulled from Team USA when he was “good to go” yet isn’t ready to start training camp as a full participant &amp; Lawrence Frank says the swelling has gone DOWN since then. So his knee was swollen more 2 months ago and you were gonna let him play full speed Olympic Games? News comes out that he had a clean up procedure in his knee &amp; is currently in recovery mode,” the post concludes.</p><p>Clippers will host Media Day on October 1.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard’s new injury draws wild Clippers fan reactions

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-kawhi-leonards-injury-gets-important-update-before-training-camp');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard’s injury gets important update before Clippers’ training camp');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kawhi-Leonard-Los-Angeles-Clippers.jpg"></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard’s injury gets important update before Clippers’ training camp</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-24T18:08:17-07:00">September 24th, 6:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-24T19:49:23-07:00">September 24th, 7:49pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his off time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Clippers will be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kris-dunn-russell-westbrook-trade-nearly-solidifies-2024-25-opening-night-roster">entering training camp</a> next week with a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kawhi-leonard-should-play-for-team-usa-if-healthy-but-clippers-fans-are-also-right-to-be-upset">limited version</a> of Kawhi Leonard. This according to President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank, who met with members of the media on Tuesday afternoon a week before Media Day.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard will be slowly ramping up his progress throughout training camp, and his status for the regular season opener against the Phoenix Suns will be determined closer to gameday.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard Injury Update</b></h2><p>Kawhi Leonard has been dealing with inflammation in his right knee since April. He played in Games 2 and 3 of the first round series against the Dallas Mavericks, but was clearly not healthy enough to continue playing.</p><p>Leonard was ultimately shut down, and he made progress to the point where he was able to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-gets-surprising-team-usa-injury-update">participate with Team USA</a> in their training camp in July. Unfortunately, he was replaced a few days into camp citing a joint decision by USA Basketball and the LA Clippers.</p><p>“His right knee, the swelling has significantly gone down,” <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1838727188138565677" rel="noopener">Frank said of Kawhi Leonard</a>. “It’s almost gone. He wants to participate in everything in training camp, but we’re gonna hold him back from drill work and really focus on strengthening because the goal is to get him 100% so he can have a great season not just this year but for many years. We’ll have a detailed plan, step-by-step, have objective measures to go from one phase to the next but he’s super determined, super excited, and can’t wait to get started.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Lawrence Frank on Kawhi Leonard in his opening statement:</p><p>"His right knee, the swelling has significantly gone down. It's almost gone. He wants to participate in everything in training camp but we're gonna hold him back from drill work and really focus on strengthening because… <a href="https://t.co/OH3M0pRkqt">pic.twitter.com/OH3M0pRkqt</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1838727188138565677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Leonard will be in Hawaii for training camp and will be participating in a limited amount of knee strengthening workouts, slowly ramping him up for the regular season opener against the Suns.</p><p>When Frank was <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1812951102649954692" rel="noopener">asked by ClutchPoints and The Athletic</a> back in July if Kawhi Leonard underwent any kind of procedure or surgery on the inflamed right knee, the Clippers President of Basketball Operations did not give a yes or no answer. That led many to speculate on the knee and whether or not Leonard would be ready for the season.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">A reminder on the non-answer from July ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/sZlwjmYHM2">https://t.co/sZlwjmYHM2</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1838733253219696995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 25, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>A report from the Athletic earlier today confirmed the suspicion that <a href="https://twitter.com/shamscharania/status/1838730198495248488?s=46" rel="noopener">Leonard underwent a procedure</a> on his knee.</p><p>“Obviously, he was cleared medically,” Frank added of Kawhi Leonard participating in Team USA’s training camp. “I watched him prepare for it, I was there at the first two practices. I was really disappointed that they didn’t give him a longer runway.</p><p>“The swelling did subside the way that we thought from a timing standpoint and it just took a little bit longer for the swelling to get to where its at now. I’m encouraged that it’s happened now and we want to keep it where it stays that way for the entire year.”</p><p>Managing how a player ramps up in training camp going into the season is consistent with undergoing an offseason procedure, so this shouldn’t be all that surprising or even discouraging.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard Encouraged As Clippers’ Camp Nears</b></h2><p>Despite his availability for camp being up in the air, Lawrence Frank insisted that Kawhi Leonard is doing well mentally and excited for the start of the season.</p><p>“I think he’s encouraged now,” Frank added of Leonard. “I think he’s encouraged that we’re starting to see some light at the end of it. We wish it would’ve happened earlier and quicker, but you go through all the different training, treatments, modalities, you turn over every stone, every rock, and you consult all the experts. I think he’s encouraged that we’re very much trending in the right direction.”</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Kawhi-Leonard-and-Luka-Doncic-during-a-playoff-game-between-the-Los-Angeles-Clippers-and-Dallas-Mavericks.jpg"><figcaption>Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>“I think the thing is it’s just a matter of when. The body is hard to predict and you just try to get the best minds, you search near and far. Kawhi, obviously, all he wants to do is to be healthy and to stay healthy and to figure out the different ways we can do it, so the process is, you just never know when, but I’m glad we’re at least trending in the direction we are. Now, we want to keep it that way.”</p><p>Tyronn Lue also expressed optimism about the Clippers while Kawhi Leonard gets into form.</p><p>“We just gotta go step-by-step [with Kawhi Leonard], just make sure we’re checking all the boxes,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “The medical staff is going to tell us when he’s ready to do everything and what he can do. So our focus is on the guys who are practicing, we’ve got to make sure we’re doing it hard, doing it the right way, and no shortcuts. That’s got to be our mentality. Every night, we have to come out and play hard, compete at a high level, but no shortcuts. That’s got to be our main focus.”</p><p>Aside from Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers are also dealing with a couple of injuries. Although those weren’t disclosed, Lawrence Frank said the injuries were considered minor, with updates expected to come as camp nears and players ramp up into full availability.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard’s injury gets important update before Clippers’ training camp

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-tyronn-lue-kawhi-leonard-training-camp-promise');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ Tyronn Lue makes Kawhi Leonard training camp promise');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/0Tyronn-Lue-makes-Kawhi-Leonard-training-camp-promise0.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers’ Tyronn Lue makes Kawhi Leonard training camp promise</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-28T12:14:56-07:00">August 28th, 12:14pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-28T12:14:56-07:00">August 28th, 12:14pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, with superstar Kawhi Leonard in tow, is heading into the 2024-25 campaign with a chip on his shoulder, and he’s ready to guide the Clippers into life after Paul George. As an assistant coach to Steve Kerr, who led Team USA to gold in the 2024 Summer Olympics (an opportunity Leonard missed due to a right knee injury) <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-tyronn-lue-bold-message-doubters-losing-paul-george">Lue is excited to shift his focus back to the Clippers</a>.</p><p>And with that in mind, he provided <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41008920/ty-lue-team-usa-lessons-shape-la-clippers-paul-george" rel="noopener">a positive update</a> on Leonard’s health ahead of the upcoming season.</p><p>“I speak to him all the time,” Lue said, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “He’ll be ready for [Clippers] training camp. He’s feeling good, and I know he’ll be ready for training camp.”</p><p>Leonard’s right knee injury forced him to miss the end of the Clippers’ best-of-seven opening-round series against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Kawhi only played in two games during this series, which saw the Mavs eventually win in six. Then, George agreed to a four-year, $212 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in July.</p><p>“When you lose a guy of Paul George’s stature, instantly people [think] oh, they can’t win, or they’re not going to be competitive,” Lue said. “But that just challenges me even more. OK, people are counting us out, or people don’t think we’re going to be good. That right there just gives me an extra dose of [motivation].</p><p>“I can’t wait to prove everybody wrong.”</p><p>The Clippers’ preseason schedule tips off on October 8th when they host the Brooklyn Nets.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard optimistic about his future with Tyronn Lue, Clippers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Clippers-star-Kawhi-Leonard.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Leonard, whose spot on Team USA’s roster was given to Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, was disappointed he couldn’t participate with Lue in the 2024 Olympics. However, he says it gave his body plenty of time to heal, and his knee has improved, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.</p><p>“I took the time, and I was able to turn around over the last two weeks,” Leonard said, per ESPN. “So, I’m out here now, and, yeah, I’m having a good time.”</p><p>It’s also not the first time Leonard has experienced a devastating injury. Considering the fact that he has missed virtually an entire season with the San Antonio Spurs, only to turn around and win a championship with the Toronto Raptors the next year, the six-time All-Star understands the ongoing hurdles are a big part of his legacy.</p><p>“This is just my journey, so whatever … I can’t lay out the perfect script for me,” Leonard said. “Last year, I tried to play as much as possible, felt great. And at a certain period of time, I couldn’t go. I tried the best that I could, but it’s just my journey.”</p><p>It’ll be intriguing to see how <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-predicting-kawhi-leonard-la-look-like-2024-25-regular-season-nears">Leonard and the Clippers respond in 2024-25</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Tyronn Lue makes Kawhi Leonard training camp promise

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/duke-basketball-news-cooper-flagg-joins-kawhi-leonard-new-balance-team');   ga('set', 'title', 'Duke basketball’s Cooper Flagg joins Kawhi Leonard’s New Balance team');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Duke-basketball-news-Fans-left-stunned-after-Cooper-Flaggs-practice-throwdown.jpg"></figure><h1>Duke basketball’s Cooper Flagg joins Kawhi Leonard’s New Balance team</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-26T07:22:40-07:00">August 26th, 7:22am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-26T07:23:40-07:00">August 26th, 7:23am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NCAA Basketball</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Cooper Flagg has made another big choice. Just ahead of his first (and likely only) season with the Duke Blue Devils, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cooper-flagg-the-betting-favorite-to-be-first-pick-in-2025-draft">top 2025 NBA Draft prospect</a> has chosen to sign with New Balance, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The Duke basketball freshman pointed to the closeness of the company to his home state of Maine as a <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/41000405/duke-cooper-flagg-signs-new-balance-shoe-endorsement-deal" rel="noopener">major factor behind his decision</a> to go with New Balance.</p><p>“The connection with New Balance as a family company and a company with Maine roots means a lot to me,” Flagg said. “That makes this really different and special. My mom used to go to the tent sale for back-to-school shopping there when we were kids. That really aligns the brand with my roots. It’s a perfect fit.”</p><p>Flagg joins a growing group of athletes under New Balance, including Los Angeles Clippers two-way star Kawhi Leonard. Also signed with the company are the likes of Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls, Dejounte Murray of the New Orleans Pelicans, Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink, and Philadelphia 76ers star guard Tyrese Maxey.</p><p>What separates Flagg from those athletes is that he’s still in college. But the future is seemingly bright for the Duke basketball recruit, who will <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/duke-basketball-news-cooper-flagg-hype-train-goes-full-steam-ahead">soon add to his hype</a> once he starts to lace it up in the 2024-25 college basketball season. Before committing to the Blue Devils, Flagg got offers from the likes of the Georgia Bulldogs, Iowa Hawkeyes, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, UConn Huskies,  West Virginia Mountaineers, and Maine Black Bears.</p><p>“As a younger kid, I can think back to dreaming about things like this,” Flagg said to ESPN about his latest off-the-court endeavor. “It’s an incredible opportunity, and I’m really blessed and grateful to be put in this position.”</p><h2><b>Fans react to Duke basketball freshman Cooper Flagg choosing New Balance</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Cooper-Flagg-in-a-press-conference.jpg"><figcaption>Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>“I don’t think enough people realize that this kid is NEXT. <a href="https://x.com/SportsarenatzTz/status/1828067015195496490" rel="noopener">Best NBA prospect out</a> of the US in a long, looooong time.” – @SportsarenatzTz</p><p>“ngl Cooper Flag looks like a New Balance guy. Sincerely, A 41-years-old dad who is <a href="https://x.com/SteveKBark/status/1828066924544061814" rel="noopener">currently wearing</a> New Balances” – @SteveKBark</p><p>“Think it’s so <a href="https://x.com/BasketballAAL/status/1828066943959503207" rel="noopener">cool to see these college athletes</a> get endorsed by big shoe brands HVL with Adidas, DJ Wagner with Nike, Flagg with NB, etc.” – @BasketballAAL</p><p>From @kris34__: “New Balance <a href="https://x.com/kris34__/status/1828070747295694888" rel="noopener">gonna be the hottest sneaker</a> in the Brooklyn see you soon Cooper. You’re gonna join a 35 win team that won the lotto cause after kyrie we deserve it.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Duke basketball’s Cooper Flagg joins Kawhi Leonard’s New Balance team

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-predicting-kawhi-leonard-la-look-like-2024-25-regular-season-nears');   ga('set', 'title', 'Predicting what Kawhi Leonard, Clippers look like as 2024-25 regular season nears');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/22-James-Harden-Kawhi-Leonard-PJ-Tucker-Bones-Hyland-Guerschon-Yabusele-Los-Angeles-Clippers-Philadelphia-76ers.jpg"></figure><h1>Predicting what Kawhi Leonard, Clippers look like as 2024-25 regular season nears</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-23T11:32:04-07:00">August 23rd, 11:32am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-23T11:33:52-07:00">August 23rd, 11:33am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his off time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As August comes to a close, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-intuit-dome-opener-opponent">LA Clippers are just a few short weeks</a> from opening up their state-of-the-art Intuit Dome for its first ever basketball game. With <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-la-officially-release-schedule-2024-25-nba-season">Kawhi Leonard and James Harden set to lead</a> the group, what can really be expected from this year’s LA Clippers team?</p><h2><b>The Clippers roster</b></h2><p>With many different potential routes on the table, the LA Clippers quickly moved on from Paul George and pivoted instead towards building a team around their remaining two stars. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden will have to do the bulk of the scoring for them, but their responsibilities were trimmed down with regards to the other end of the court.</p><p>Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, and Nicolas Batum are all players who will take defensive responsibilities alongside Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac. With many combinations on the table, the Clippers should have a solid defensive lineup at all times.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard was a healthy scratch from Team USA this past summer at the Paris Olympics, but all indications are that he’ll be ready when the Clippers begin training camp in Hawaii on October 1st.</p><p>With the departure of George, all indications are that Ivica Zubac, Terance Mann, and Norman Powell will be taking increased roles offensively to help make up for it. Zubac and Mann have shown tremendous growth, capped off by a strong playoff series last year. Powell will be relied upon much more as a ball-handler after taking more of a backset with the arrivals of Russell Westbrook and James Harden in the last two seasons.</p><p>The only remaining question marks around the Clippers as training camp nears is the same thing it has been for the last couple of seasons: What will they do about their power forward position and can their stars be healthy when the calendar flips to April.</p><p>Last season, the Clippers were not able to address their power forward needs following the trade for James Harden, and as of right now, they appear to be content with where they are.</p><h2><b>The power forward spot</b></h2><p>The LA Clippers don’t have many avenues left to exhaust in order to improve the roster. Losing Paul George opened up both the non-taxpayer mid-level exception — used to sign Derrick Jones Jr. — as well as the bi-annual exception — used to sign Nicolas Batum.</p><p>The Clippers were able to trade Russell Westbrook to the Jazz for Kris Dunn while adding Mo Bamba and Kevin Porter Jr. as free agents.</p><p>As of mid-August, the Clippers have still been unable to find a feasible trade package that would allow them to move off of PJ Tucker. Their attempts dating back to the 2023-24 regular season have not been fruitful, with many teams expecting the Clippers to attach draft compensation in order to spice up the package.</p><p>The Athletic’s Law Murray reported earlier this month that the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5701069/2024/08/15/intuit-dome-clippers-opening/" rel="noopener">Clippers are preparing as if PJ Tucker</a> will be on the roster entering training camp, and everything appears to be trending in that direction barring any moves heading into the final weeks of September.</p><p>The Philadelphia 76ers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-sign-breakout-olympics-star">agreed to a deal</a> with French forward and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-french-olympic-hero-pleads-comeback">former Boston Celtic</a> Guerschon Yabusele on Sunday morning. Yabusele, who had a strong 2024 Paris Olympics performance, selected the Sixers among a number of interested suitors, including the LA Clippers.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Guerschon-Yabusele-Los-Angeles-Clippers-Philadelphia-76ers.jpg"></figure><p>The Clippers expressed interest in signing Guerschon Yabusele after his stellar performance at the Paris Olympics, league sources not authorized to speak publicly told ClutchPoints. Yabusele, who could play either forward position, would’ve been a solid fit for a team that has been actively seeking frontcourt depth.</p><p>Yabusele also played with current Clippers forward Nicolas Batum on the French National Team, which won silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics.</p><p>The Clippers’ problem is that they’ve completely maxed out available roster spots with all 15 guaranteed deals, both two-way spots — Jordan Miller and Trentyn Flowers, and four exhibit 10 (training camp) deals — Kai Jones, Elijah Harkless, RayJ Dennis, and Kevon Harris — for a grand total of 21 spots.</p><p>Yabusele ended up signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on one-year, $2.1 million deal. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Yabusele caught the eye of many in the NBA in Paris. Multiple teams were interested in his services as a result of his stellar play, with the Sixers winning those sweepstakes.</p><p>The forward who is often called the, “Dancing Bear,” averaged 14 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assist across six games for France en route to the second place finish. As the team’s second-leading scorer behind Victor Wembanyama, Yabusele shot 51.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three throughout the tournament.</p><p>He really shined during the three knockout stages of the Olympics, where he led the team in scoring averaging 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 1.0 steal per game while shooting 55.9 percent from the field. He also attempted 22 free throws in the knockout rounds, shooting 81.9 percent from the line.</p><p>In addition to Yabusele, the Clippers have also been intrigued by French forward Mathias Lessort, who also played well during the Olympic run, sources told ClutchPoints. He, however, is coming off a Euroleague championship with Panathinaikos Basketball Club and being named MVP of the Greek League Finals.</p><p>As it stands, it appears Kawhi Leonard will handle the bulk of the power forward minutes with some spot minutes from guys like Nicolas Batum or, in some smaller lineups, Derrick Jones Jr.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jordan-Miller-headlines-5-players-deserving-of-NBA-contract-after-Summer-League.jpg1_.jpg"></figure><h2><b>The young Clippers</b></h2><p>Summer League saw the Clippers finish with a semifinal loss by just one point at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies. Jordan Miller, Kobe Brown, and Cam Christie all impressed in what was a very successful overall summer tournament.</p><p>Following their strong run, a number of those players have continued playing together at organized pickup runs in Los Angeles. Kobe Brown has been described as the best Clippers player at some of the runs this month, and Jordan Miller has looked like a different player as he enters his second season in the league. Norman Powell has also been a regular at these open runs as part of his tenacious offseason workout regimen. Terance Mann and James Harden also participated before leaving town for their other respective obligations.</p><p>Of all the young players, Brown is the player who will likely receive the greatest opportunity to contribute right away, given the Clippers’ hole at the power forward spot. Kawhi Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr. and Nicolas Batum will likely take the majority of those minutes, but if the Clippers can get solid defense and some offensive production from Brown, that would go a long way towards opening up other things for the Clippers.</p><p>Jordan Miller expressed his desire to sign a standard NBA contract in Summer League, and that remains his goal as his second season is set to begin. As noted with the forward spot above, the Clippers simply don’t have a roster spot at the moment.</p><p>Bones Hyland is another big question mark for the Clippers. The departure of Russell Westbrook should have, in theory meant the backup guard spot belonged to Hyland. Instead, the Clippers went out and signed Kris Dunn and Kevin Porter Jr., further complicating the Clippers’ backcourt situation.</p><p>President of Basketball Operations said the team and Hyland’s representation would work together on a pathway to play if that pathway was not available on the Clippers, so it remains to be seen what the team ends up doing with him.</p><p>Training camp for the Clippers is set to begin on October 1, 2024, the day after Media Day in Inglewood, CA. In an ideal world, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden play 72+ games, giving the Clippers a solid chance to make the playoffs in an ever-competitive Western Conference.</p><p>Given how this roster currently looks while assuming that Harden and, mainly Leonard, will probably have to miss some time this year, a 45-37 record as play-in team is what would be my guess as to where the Clippers end up.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Predicting what Kawhi Leonard, Clippers look like as 2024-25 regular season nears

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-la-officially-release-schedule-2024-25-nba-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard, Clippers officially release schedule for 2024-25 NBA season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/James-Harden-Kawhi-Leonard-Los-Angeles-Clippers.jpg"></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard, Clippers officially release schedule for 2024-25 NBA season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-08-15T12:00:10-07:00">August 15th, 12:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-08-15T12:22:04-07:00">August 15th, 12:22pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his off time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-reacts-to-paul-george-leaving-for-sixers">five seasons together</a>, Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers are entering a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-la-puts-out-statement-explaining-paul-georges-departure">new era without Paul George</a> in the mix. On Thursday afternoon, the Clippers took a big first step forward with the official release of their schedule for the 2024-25 NBA season.</p><p>Without further ado, let’s jump right into the 2024-25 NBA schedule.</p><h2><b>Clippers free of afternoon home games, but have more back-to-backs</b></h2><p>The LA Clippers and their fanbase have been complaining for years about the unfortunate circumstances at Staples Center/Crypto that forced them into a number of afternoon matinees during the weekends. Well, no more!</p><p>After review, the Clippers have ZERO home games starting in the afternoon in their inaugural season at Intuit Dome. LA plays 13 home games on weekends this upcoming season, with no game scheduled to tip off earlier than 6 PM PST.</p><p>In fact, the only game *all season* that the Clippers will have to tip off in the afternoon is their final game of the season against the Golden State Warriors. And that, obviously, is by design and part of the NBA’s plan to make sure every game on the final day is as competitive as possible.</p><p>Despite the positive news that they’ll have no afternoon home tipoffs, the Clippers will play a total of 16 back-to-back sets this season. That’s one more than they had in both the 2023-24 season and the 2022-23 season.</p><p>Six of the Clippers’ 16 back-to-back sets will be at both be at home, six will both be on the road, and four will be home/road splits</p><p>As part of those 16, they have a six-in-nine stretch from November 17th to the 25th and a five-in-seven stretch from March 30th to April 5th.</p><p>The Clippers will also have nine national TV games, with six on ESPN and three on TNT.</p><h2><b>Clippers’ opening week schedule</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/James-Harden-Paul-George-Ivica-Zubac-Daniel-Theis-and-Kawhi-Leonard-look-on-as-the-Dallas-Mavericks-win-a-first-round-series-victory.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Clippers are set to tip off their regular season against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns at home on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. It will be the first-ever regular season basketball game played at the all-new Intuit Dome, marking the first time since 1999 that the Clippers called any arena but Staples Center their home.</p><p>The Clippers will take two days off on Thursday and Friday before taking on the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors in a back-to-back set with both games coming on the road. It’ll be the Clippers’ first time going up against former guard Russell Westbrook and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.</p><p>After another pair of days off, the Clippers return home for a back-to-back set against the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns (again), with both games coming at home. Strangely enough, the Clippers will host the division rival Suns twice in eight days to start the NBA season, meaning they won’t be back in LA to face them again for the remainder of the regular season.</p><p>That’s how the Clippers start out the season: five games in eight days, including two sets of two days off as well as two back-to-back sets already.</p><h2><b>Biggest games of the Clippers’ season</b></h2><p>The Clippers will get some big games out of the way early, with Paul George returning to Los Angeles as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, November 6th. That game will be broadcast on ESPN, and will surely have fireworks.</p><p>Luka Doncic and the <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1786604841197805961" rel="noopener">Dallas Mavericks, who defeated the Clippers</a> in their 2024 first-round playoff series, won’t play in Los Angeles against Kawhi Leonard and James Harden’s club until the very end of the regular season. The Clippers are scheduled to host Dallas on April 4 and 5, 2025 in a back-to-back set at Intuit Dome. The Mavs, however, host the Clippers on December 19th and December 21st.</p><p>The Clippers’ first game against the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics will come on Monday, November 25, 2024, in Boston. Kawhi Leonard and Co. will host the Celtics in L.A. on January 22, 2025.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Kawhi-Leonard-of-the-Los-Angeles-Clippers-prepares-to-take-a-shot-against-LeBron-James-of-the-Los-Angeles-Lakers.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The crosstown rival Los Angeles Lakers have played every game in Los Angeles at Staples Center since 1999. Until now. LeBron James and his Lakers will travel to Intuit Dome for the first time on January 19, 2025. They’ll return to Inglewood two weeks later on February 4, 2025, for the second matchup of the season against the Clippers.</p><p>The series will shift to Crypto dot com Arena for a pair of contests shortly after the All-Star break on February 28th and March 2nd.</p><h2><b>The final week of the Clippers’ season</b></h2><p>The Clippers will finish the season with five of their final seven games at home, all in April.</p><p>The New Orleans Pelicans come to town on April 2nd, followed by a back-to-back set against the Mavs on April 4th and 5th. After two days off, the Clippers will see their final back-to-back set of the season: Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, followed by Alperen Sengun and the Houston Rockets.</p><p>The final two games, both on the road, will be in Sacramento against the Kings and in San Francisco against the Warriors to close out the regular season on November 13th. So the Clippers don’t even have to leave California for all of April.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers are looking at a new-look roster in the 2024-25 season, but remain hopeful to contend for a playoff spot come April.</p><p>Here is the full LA Clippers’ 2024-25 regular season schedule:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Here is the LA Clippers' 2024-25 regular season schedule: <a href="https://t.co/bKgIz7oSeM">pic.twitter.com/bKgIz7oSeM</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1824164297012023678?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard, Clippers officially release schedule for 2024-25 NBA season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/olympics-news-brad-stevens-derrick-white-jaylen-brown-kawhi-leonard-team-usa');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Brad Stevens reacts to Derrick White, not Jaylen Brown, replacing Kawhi Leonard on Team USA');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Brad-Stevens-reacts-to-Derrick-White-not-Jaylen-Brown-replacing-Kawhi-Leonard-on-Team-USA.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Brad Stevens reacts to Derrick White, not Jaylen Brown, replacing Kawhi Leonard on Team USA</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-18T10:50:08-07:00">July 18th, 10:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-18T10:51:29-07:00">July 18th, 10:51am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jaylen Brown was an intriguing candidate to replace Kawhi Leonard on Team USA’s Olympic roster when the Los Angeles Clippers star decided to opt out. Instead, Brown’s Boston Celtics teammate Derrick White was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-derrick-white-vocal-on-team-usa-call-up-as-kawhi-leonard-replacement">added as the replacement</a>. So what does Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens think about the Team USA decision?</p><p>“Jaylen’s a great player. I don’t think there’s any doubt that Jaylen could be on any team, any Olympic team in any year,” Stevens <a href="https://x.com/RealBobManning/status/1813702773671969177" rel="noopener">said</a>, via Bobby Manning of CLNS Media. “But at the end of the day, his approach, he talked about how he called Derrick, he talked about his own feelings … whether he has success, or he gets all the accolades, like Finals MVP or eastern conference finals MVP, or he feels like he got left off the team.</p><p>“He’s going to be motivated and hungry regardless. That’s what I’ve always loved about him. He always goes back to work.”</p><p>Brown led the Celtics in the NBA postseason along with Jayson Tatum. Tatum is often regarded as the Celtics best player but it was Brown who won the NBA Finals MVP Award. There is no question that Brown could have played for Team USA in 2024.</p><p>Nevertheless, it was White who was ultimately selected as Leonard’s replacement. White is a talented player as well, as he enjoyed a breakout 2023-24 season. Still, Brown is one of the best players in the entire NBA. Perhaps he will use <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-jaylen-brown-cryptic-reaction-derrick-white-team-usa">the snub</a> as motivation for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.</p><h2><b>Jaylen Brown is a superstar</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Jaylen-Brown-dunking-1.jpg"><figcaption>Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Brown, 27, has been considered one of the best secondary stars in the league over the past few years. He took a step forward in the 2024 postseason, however, proving he can lead a championship team.</p><p>He had plenty of help from Tatum, White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and the rest of the roster. Boston would not have played as well as they did without Brown, though.</p><p>Brown is a three-time NBA All-Star. He is a quality scorer who can finish at the basket and also has the ability to connect on the three-ball. Brown is also a respectable defensive presence. His versatility makes him a reliable superstar at the NBA level.</p><p>Team USA features no shortage of talent. They are the favorite in the Olympics despite Jaylen Brown’s absence. With that being said, having a player like Brown on the team would have only increased their chances of winning.</p><p>At the very least, Brown will get to rest and recover following the Celtics’ 2024 NBA championship run. Playing deep into June is exciting but also exhausting. One has to imagine that Jaylen Brown will be more than ready for the 2024-25 season as he rests and prepares for the new campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Brad Stevens reacts to Derrick White, not Jaylen Brown, replacing Kawhi Leonard on Team USA

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-team-usa-stance-draws-strong-reaction-stephen-a-smith');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard Team USA stance draws strong reaction from Stephen A. Smith');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/LAs-Kawhi-Leonard-stance-draws-strong-reaction-from-Stephen-A.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard Team USA stance draws strong reaction from Stephen A. Smith</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-15T22:19:54-07:00">July 15th, 10:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-15T22:19:54-07:00">July 15th, 10:19pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It looked as though everything was going smoothly for Kawhi Leonard and Team USA in their bid to bag home the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, last week, both Team USA and the Los Angeles Clippers deemed that it was in Leonard’s best interest for him <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-kawhi-leonard-team-usa-withdraw-derrick-white-replacement">not to suit up</a> for the upcoming Olympic games to mitigate the risk of injury after a tumultuous past four years.</p><p>But now, it seems as though Team USA was alone in making the call to hold Leonard out, with president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40570495/clippers-very-disappointed-team-usa-replaced-kawhi-leonard" rel="noopener">expressing his disappointment</a> over how things have gone down.</p><p>While it would have been great to see Kawhi Leonard show that he’s healthy in the grandest international basketball stage, ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith <a href="https://x.com/stephenasmith/status/1813029646507909530" rel="noopener">is befuddled</a> as to why Lawrence Frank would feel this way. The Clippers, after all, should know just how important keeping Leonard healthy is given how crucial he is to the team’s chances of making any noise in the Western Conference, especially in the aftermath of Paul George’s departure.</p><p>“Respectfully Lawrence Frank, come on! How could anyone who roots for the @LAClippers possibly feel this way, knowing this man is perennially unhealthy, having missed 60% of the playoffs as a Clipper,” Smith wrote on his official Twitter (X) account.</p><p>“His greatness is not a question. His health is always a question. So how can any member of the Clippers be disappointed, knowing how much he’s needed. Come on!”</p><p>Lawrence Frank said that it was “USAB’s call” and that he was “quite frankly” (no pun intended) “very disappointed with the decision”. Moreover, the Clippers president clarified that “Leonard wanted to play” and that the Clippers “wanted him to play”. He then revealed that he talked to the Team USA committee and told them that he wishes that they would have given Leonard “more time” to ramp up.</p><p>Indeed, Stephen A. Smith is justified in feeling this sort of confusion. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kawhi-leonard-should-play-for-team-usa-if-healthy-but-clippers-fans-are-also-right-to-be-upset">Clippers fans may be disappointed</a> that they won’t get to see Kawhi Leonard suit up for Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but that disappointment pales in comparison to all the frustrations that have been building up in a fanbase that knows that the team they’re rooting for has the talent to compete for a championship but simply does not have the health to do so.</p><p>But Lawrence Frank simply may be echoing Leonard and his camp’s sentiment regarding the whole withdrawal from Team USA. It’s his job as the Clippers executive to have his best player’s back, and for that, Frank did a good job.</p><h2>Have the Clippers not learned?</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Kawhi-Leonard-sitting-on-the-bench-during-the-Los-Angeles-Clippers-playoff-game-against-the-Dallas-Mavericks.webp"></figure><p>It definitely is a bit confusing to see the Clippers brass express their disappointment publicly regarding Kawhi Leonard’s exclusion from Team USA’s final Olympic roster. At this point, Leonard simply may never get through another season unscathed again, especially now that he’s 33 years of age. He seems to be suffering from a degenerative knee issue, as evidenced by the fact that he has been dealing with knee problems ever since he tore his ACL in the 2021 NBA playoffs.</p><p>Just this season, it seemed like Leonard was turning around the narrative of his career. The NBA had instituted a 65-game minimum to be eligible for postseason awards, and Leonard proceeded to play in 68 games for the Clippers. In fact, he played like an MVP candidate during the Clippers’ 26-5 midseason stretch. Leonard, however, suffered some knee soreness at the end of March.</p><p>That knee soreness problem cast a dark cloud over the final month of the Clippers’ season. Will he or won’t he be back was the main question plaguing the team. In the end, he did come back for two games in the first round of the playoffs, but it was evident that he was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-kawhi-leonards-honest-admission-about-knee-injury-after-game-3-vs-mavs">nowhere near 100 percent</a>.</p><p>There, indeed, seems to be a correlation between the number of games Leonard plays and the well-being of his knee. The only season in which he has stayed fully healthy from beginning to end for the Clippers was the 2019-20 campaign — a season that had a four-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 lockdown.</p><p>Leonard being healthy now isn’t too far-fetched; he last played for the Clippers on April 26 — nearly three months ago. But the Clippers have to know that putting more wear-and-tear on the 33-year-old forward’s body isn’t the best idea, especially when the team is going through a bit of a transition phase with George departing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Team USA will be in a good enough position anyway regardless of whether or not Leonard is on the roster.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard Team USA stance draws strong reaction from Stephen A. Smith

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/olympics-news-derrick-white-vocal-on-team-usa-call-up-as-kawhi-leonard-replacement');   ga('set', 'title', 'Olympics news: Derrick White vocal on Team USA call-up as Kawhi Leonard replacement');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Olympics-news-Derrick-White-vocal-on-Team-USA-call-up-as-Kawhi-Leonard-replacement.jpg"><figcaption>7/14/24</figcaption></figure><h1>Olympics news: Derrick White vocal on Team USA call-up as Kawhi Leonard replacement</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-14T17:18:32-07:00">July 14th, 5:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-14T17:18:32-07:00">July 14th, 5:18pm</time><address><a>Steve Silverman</a>Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including "Who's Better, Who's Best in the NFL." He has won multiple awards from the Pro Football Writers of America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Team USA had to replace star forward Kawhi Leonard because of a knee injury and Derrick White<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/every-nba-fun-fact-related-to-the-olympics-and-team-usa"> was selected</a> to replace him. White arrived in Abu Dhabi to join his teammates Sunday, and the key member of the NBA champion Boston Celtics is looking forward to getting the opportunity to play in the Paris Olympics.</p><p>White had been informed by USA basketball leadership that he was being looked at as a potential replacement for Leonard in June. However, White did not anticipate that Leonard was going to be be sidelined by his injury.</p><p>However, once it became clear that Leonard was not going to be close to 100 percent healthy, White <a href="https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2024/07/14/derrick-white-team-usa-celtics/">got the call</a> from Executive Director Grant Hill to join the team.</p><p>“When I seen all that happened [with Leonard] and I got the call, I was ready to go,” White said. ”I just had to talk to the family and try to figure out how we can make it work and as quickly as possible. I’m super thankful and grateful and excited to be here.”</p><p>Team USA is playing an exhibition game Monday against Australia. The game in Abu Dhabi could give White a chance to play with his Olympic teammates, but head coach Steve Kerr has not indicated that he will have White compete so soon after arriving after his long flight.</p><h2><b>White offers great defensive skills</b></h2><p>However, White <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/olympics-news-jaylen-brown-cryptic-reaction-derrick-white-team-usa">was selected</a> for his ability to guard multiple positions and make key plays when the game is on the line. White and Celtics teammate Jrue Holiday have a chance to be two of the defensive stoppers on Team USA.</p><p>Prior to joining the Olympic team in Abu Dhabi, White was taking some time off from basketball after Boston’s championship run. Days after the Celtics won the title, he signed a four-year, $126 million contract extension with the team.</p><p>White had also been called up to play with the U.S. senior team in 2019. He had been with the Select Team prior to his call-up, and that was considered a move that raised some eyebrows because White had gained the last roster spot on the Select Team.</p><p>While Derrick White has been chosen to replace the injured Leonard, another move may or may not have to be made in the coming days regarding Kevin Durant.</p><p>The elite scorer has a calf injury and has missed recent practices and he will not play in Monday’s game against Australia. If he doesn’t make a strong recovery in the upcoming days or weeks, Hill and head coach Steve Kerr may have to replace him.</p><p>Team USA has until July 27 to finalize its roster, and if Durant needs to be replaced, another Celtic is likely to be considered. Jaylen Brown was the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, and it seems likely that he should be on the radar.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Olympics news: Derrick White vocal on Team USA call-up as Kawhi Leonard replacement

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/paul-pierces-shocking-kawhi-leonard-clippers-take-after-opting-out-of-team-usa');   ga('set', 'title', 'Paul Pierce’s shocking Kawhi Leonard Clippers take after opting out of Team USA');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Paul-Pierces-shocking-Kawhi-Leonard-take-after-opting-out-of-Team-USA.jpg"></figure><h1>Paul Pierce’s shocking Kawhi Leonard Clippers take after opting out of Team USA</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-11T10:57:40-07:00">July 11th, 10:57am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-11T10:57:40-07:00">July 11th, 10:57am</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard withdrew from participating in the Olympics with Team USA basketball, and it brought up injury concerns for almost anyone, drawing some <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1811425747791175791" rel="noopener">retirement recommendations</a> from former player Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce.</p><p>“I think he’s teetering and if this is something that’s injury-related because leaving USA, well I think, and I’m just thinking about the player, he should honestly like see how this year goes and if he has to deal with another injury, Kawhi should start thinking about retirement,” Paul Pierce said on Undisputed. “I really do believe that. I really do. This is just for the guy’s health. Think about how much, he’s missed 44% of the games. Like that’s your body telling you, like it’s hard to get through an 82-game season. Like it’s only so much a body can take, Skip. You really got to think about the long run for yourself, and this is not a knock on him, but you really gotta start thinking like you still a young man in society. Like, you don’t want to be limping around, looking bad as a young man in society. So I’m just saying he gotta really start contemplating that if these things, if there’s something else, if there’s one more surgery it’s like what gives you know?”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Kawhi [Leonard] should really start thinking about retirement. I really do believe that. This is just for the guy's health. He's missed 44% of the games… You really got to think about the long run for yourself."</p><p>– Paul Pierce</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/undisputed?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@undisputed</a>)<a href="https://t.co/TEERFC04Pz">pic.twitter.com/TEERFC04Pz</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1811425747791175791?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It is an interesting suggestion from Pierce, especially considering that Stephen A. Smith of ESPN has brought up the same idea in the past, and he received a lot of criticism for that comment, including directly on that show. Still, Kawhi Leonard has dealt with a lot of injuries in his career, hopefully sitting out of the Olympics will help keep him fresh going into next season <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-ex-paul-george-teammate-threatened-knock-him-fk-out-nba-bubble">with the Clippers</a>, as they try to remain contenders in the Western Conference even though Paul George departed for the Philadelphia 76ers.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard trying to maximize later stages of his career</b></h2><p>Leonard already has a great legacy as a player, he has two championship wins and two finals MVP awards, one with the San Antonio Spurs and one with the Toronto Raptors. He helped the Spurs beat the Miami Heat, and then he had an unbelievable year with the Raptors, helping them beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.</p><p>That year with the Raptors will likely be viewed as Leonard’s greatest accomplishment in his career from the outsiders. He decided that he wanted to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-best-move-in-2024-nba-free-agency">join the Clippers</a> the following season, bringing Paul George along with him. The upside of the team was very high, but the injuries to Leonard and others on the team limited what the Clippers could achieve in his years with the franchise.</p><p>It will be interesting to see how he fares with George out and James Harden coming back to the team this upcoming year. Obviously, the hope is that the Clippers will be able to have Leonard healthy for the majority of the season and be able to contend for an NBA title. Only time will tell as Leonard enters his age 33 season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
23.7	6.1	3.6	0.9	1.6

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
23.7	6.1	3.6	0.9	1.6

Kawhi Leonard news

Kawhi
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