Kawhi Leonard is often the first player associated with “load management”. Having missed a lot of games due to injury, he has become the unfortunate poster boy for this controversial topic. However, Antonio Daniels has come to his defense, claiming that Leonard does not remain sidelined without any legitimate reason.
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On SiriusXM NBA Radio, Daniels tried putting an end to a longstanding narrative regarding Leonard’s load management. The NBA analyst agreed that the concept of load management began because of the Klaw. However, he didn’t have any justification but believed that Leonard wasn’t purposely missing games.
“When I think of low management, Kawhi Leonard’s not who I think of. I can think of him in saying a lot of the load management started with Kawhi Leonard. But truth be told, I’ve never thought that Kawhi Leonard was sitting out for the sake of sitting out,” the former San Antonio Spurs star said.
Daniels went on to declare that the league should allow certain players to cite “load management” as the reason behind games missed. The pundit justified his claim by using LeBron James–old age–and Leonard–grave injuries–as two examples.
“There are certain guys I feel like that are exempt from load management… LeBron James to me should be able to load manage whenever he wants to. When you’re that age, you should be able to load manage as you see fit. Kawhi Leonard, because his injury is degenerative, he should be able to load manage whenever he wants to load manage. Plain and simple,” Daniels concluded.
"There are certain guys I feel like that are exempt from load management"
🔊@adaniels33 reacts to the news of Kawhi Leonard having a procedure on his knee during the offseason. pic.twitter.com/jDdNLDOwYh
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) September 29, 2024
This topic arose after details of Leonard’s latest injury were recently disclosed by the Clippers. During the offseason, the two-time Finals MVP got a procedure done on his right knee. This is the same knee that was injured earlier in the year, resulting in him being absent for a significant time in the postseason and missing the 2024 Olympics.
While the swelling has gone done and the 6ft 7 forward has a keen interest in participating in the training camp, the Clippers are holding him back. According to a spokesman from the LA franchise, they want Leonard to get fully fit before he steps foot on the hardwood. Hence, fans can expect the 33-year-old to miss a portion of the 2024-2025 regular season.
As more updates on the six-time All-Star’s injuries are made public, Paul Pierce’s retirement idea for Leonard begins seeming to be more logical.
Pierce suggests Leonard consider retirement
No player from the late 2010s onwards has struggled with injuries as much as Leonard has. Since the beginning of the 2017 season, he has only participated in 298 out of 564 games (just over 50% of all games).
After going through his third knee surgery in four years, Pierce expressed concern for the LA native. The Celtics legend claimed that the superstar should put an end to his misery and focus on having a healthy post-retirement life.
“Kawhi, long-term, should really start contemplating retirement. Think about how many years we’ve been talking about, or seeing him go through, clean outs or surgeries or sitting out…It’s like it’s going to get to the point man, you will not be able to save your legs for after you retire… You should really think about the future. Cause this is too much to keep putting your body through,” Pierce said.
Leonard is still in his prime. When healthy, he’s been a force to reckon with – averaging 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game during his stint with the Clippers. However, he has hardly been healthy. Despite playing at an All-Star level, Leonard can take a similar decision as Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, and Yao Ming, and retire early to avoid any more horrific injuries.
