There seems to be no end to Kawhi Leonard’s problems. The 33-year-old has had a troubled history with injuries, which has become a major deterrent in his availability in the past few years. Currently, he’s still sidelined before the 2023-24 season due to his right knee inflammation. Therefore, Kendrick Perkins finally decided that he had seen enough.
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The former NBA star suggested that Kawhi should consider retiring. The 39-year-old believes that Kawhi’s body has been through enough injuries and surgeries for him to still keep going. Things are only going to get worse from here for the two-time NBA Champion.
Perkins said, “This is not a hot take, but when you think about his [Kawhi’s] history and you think about now…it’s still problems with his knee. Every single season, it’s a problem when it comes down to Kawhi Leonard’s health. He needs to sit down at the round table, not only with the Clippers organization but his family as well. I really think Kawhi Leonard should consider retiring.”
Big Perk clarified that he is a huge fan of the Clippers but it may be time for Leonard to hang the boots.
However, renowned sports medicine doctor Brian Sutterer wholeheartedly disagreed with KP. In fact, Sutterer challenged Perk to explain a couple of medical terms. The doctor implied that the former Boston Celtics star shouldn’t pass verdicts on such serious topics if he’s not a trained professional.
Dr. Sutterer quote-tweeted a clip of Perkins’s take with the comment, “Unless @KendrickPerkins can tell me the difference between an effusion and tendonitis I don’t think he should have an opinion on this.”
Unless @KendrickPerkins can tell me the difference between an effusion and tendonitis I don’t think he should have an opinion on this. https://t.co/RVrEVMWZ6t
— Brian Sutterer MD (@BrianSuttererMD) October 17, 2024
Realistically speaking, Perkins’s take isn’t completely off. The former NBA star might not be a doctor, but he knows how injuries can take a toll on your body and cause long-term effects.
Kawhi has suffered a lot over the last few years. But fans were excited to see that he played 68 games last season, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists.
Towards the end of the season, the Klaw went down again with knee inflammation. Whenever he comes back from the recent setback, Kawhi can continue to play.
If he plays limited minutes every game, that might help him with conserving his health. The problem is, that a player of his caliber will not adjust well to playing limited minutes, they’d rather retire gracefully.
Kawhi Leonard’s injuries
The two-time NBA Champion has been dealing with major injuries since 2017 and has been unable to shake them off. From a partial left shoulder tear to a bruised right hip, and groin injury, he has put his body through a lot. However, nothing has troubled Kawhi as much as his knees.
In this year alone, his right knee inflammation has made him miss the playoffs (he played only two games), pull out his name from the Olympics roster at the last minute, and now he’s out of the season for an indefinite amount of time.
As of now, there’s no clarity on how much time it’ll take for him to rehabilitate the inflammation in his right knee. His performance this season might decide the validity of Perkins’ take.
