Kawhi Leonard had his dreams crushed earlier this year when he had to leave the Team USA camp before the Paris Olympics even started due to injury. Leonard wanted to represent the USA in what would have been his first Olympics experience. Stephen A. Smith had actually criticized Kawhi’s decision to play for Team USA at the time, given his history with injuries.
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He had also declared that Steve Ballmer and the Clippers should pull the plug on Kawhi’s international stint because it could backfire during the 2024-25 season. However, Clippers’ head coach Tyronn Lue told Stephen A. on his The Stephen A. Smith Show that Kawhi’s short stint at the Team USA camp actually proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Clippers.
When asked for his thoughts on Kawhi’s willingness to join Team USA for the Olympics, Lue said that he backed his player’s decision at the time. He understood that Kawhi wanted to add that experience to his resume. He also would’ve had a chance to play alongside some of the all-time greats of the game.
However, Lue believes that when the injury surfaced, the Clippers were able to get a head start on the Klaw’s recovery process.
He said, “I thought at USA he had some really good days. So, after USA was over, he continues to go back and work out, and then we saw certain things that wasn’t good and so we were able to catch it early on and we started the process earlier…It was like a blessing in disguise really, but it was something that Kawhi wanted to do.”
The stint with Team USA also allowed Kawhi to remain competitive in what would’ve otherwise been a regular offseason. However, he couldn’t realize his dream of playing for his country. As for his injury and recovery, Kawhi is still waiting to make his season debut.
Kawhi Leonard’s injury update
Kawhi has been sidelined for the season so far due to his right knee injury recovery. The Clippers also lost some key players during the offseason to trades, including Paul George. So, they’re eagerly waiting for the face of the franchise to make a return and make his season debut. There were no positive signs of his return until Bill Simmons came out with some good news.
On an episode of his podcast, Simmons revealed that he has been told that Kawhi will be ready to get back on the floor before Christmas. Although he didn’t go into details, this was enough to get Clippers fans hyped up. He said, “My Clippers guy was telling me Kawhi’s coming back before Christmas. I think he’s ramped up. He’s ramped up and ready to go.”
In Kawhi’s absence, the Clippers have played 24 games and have a record of 14-10. And if he’s really making a return within the next 20 days, then they can expect to improve their season record in the upcoming months.
