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

Today at 09:08 PM

The Los Angeles Clippers will be entering training camp next week with a limited version 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.

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.

Kawhi Leonard Injury Update

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.

Leonard was ultimately shut down, and he made progress to the point where he was able to participate with Team USA 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.

“His right knee, the swelling has significantly gone down,” Frank said of Kawhi Leonard. “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.”

Lawrence Frank on Kawhi Leonard in his opening statement:

"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… pic.twitter.com/OH3M0pRkqt

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 24, 2024

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.

When Frank was asked by ClutchPoints twice 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.

A reminder on the non-answer from July https://t.co/sZlwjmYHM2

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 25, 2024

A report from the Athletic earlier today confirmed the suspicion that Leonard underwent a procedure on his knee.

“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.

“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.”

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.

Kawhi Leonard Encouraged As Clippers’ Camp Nears

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.

“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.”

“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.”

Tyronn Lue also expressed optimism about the Clippers while Kawhi Leonard gets into form.

“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.”

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.

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