Kawhi Leonard’s prognosis has gone from bad to worse.
The Los Angeles Clippers All-Star said in September that he planned to play in the season opener on Wednesday following the revelation he suffered an off-season knee procedure. Last week, we learned that Leonard would be absent indefinitely with lingering knee inflammation that kept him out of the playoffs last season.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Leonard would miss “weeks” due to his injury.
“I was told Kawhi Leonard would miss weeks” Charania reported Wednesday. “It’s not an injury that will be measured in a week, two weeks, potentially. Not in days, obviously.
“It will be an extended period of time where the Clippers start this season without him.”
That’s not good news for a revamped Clippers team that planned to lean even more on Leonard after losing All-Star Paul George in free agency to the Philadelphia 76ers after not being able to accept the conditions on a long-term contract.
When healthy, Leonard remains one of the most dangerous two-way players in the game. He is an elite defender who averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.6 steals last season, while shooting 41.7% from 3-point range.
But his health and availability are ever-changing goals that have been hurting his career since his stint with the San Antonio Spurs ended. Leonard’s 68 games played last season was his most since joining the Clippers in 2019. But knee inflammation sidelined him for the final eight games of the regular season and four of six playoff games in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the season. playoffs.
Before last season, Leonard hadn’t played in more than 57 games in his previous four seasons with the Clippers. He missed the entire 2021-22 campaign due to a torn ACL. He is now set to miss another important part of the regular season.
Leonard’s absence means the Clippers will rely more on James Harden and offseason acquisitions Derrick Jones Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. to carry the load. The Clippers open their season Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns. They will do it at home in the first regular season game at the team’s new home in Inglewood, the Intuit Dome.
