According to Tania Ganguli of the LA Times, the LA Clippers “have concerns” about Kawhi Leonard’s injury.
The Kawhi Leonard sweepstakes have all but officially begun, and the LA Clippers are right in the thick of things. Leonard has LA as his preferred destination, and the Clippers are rumored to be interested in acquiring him.
However, according to the LA Times’ Tania Ganguli, the Clippers “have concerns about the severity of Leonard’s injury” and have not yet had discussions with the Spurs because of it.
Leonard missed all but nine games last season due to a quadriceps injury. The situation has created a massive rift between he and the Spurs organization, and just two days ago, it was reported that he wants out of San Antonio for good.
While Leonard is a top-tier player when healthy, the Clippers are right to be wary. He was no better than Danilo Gallinari last season, and for the money he’s making, he simply wasn’t worth it. But obviously, that’s not to be expected of Leonard. A repeat of what was far and away his worst NBA season is highly unlikely.
According to one of Ganguli’s sources, the Clippers would be willing to create a package centered around Tobias Harris and both lottery picks for Leonard. With enormous amounts of cap space, LA would be able to re-sign Leonard once his contract expires as well. Just three players are signed through the 2019-2020 season.
Whether a trade does go through is impossible to predict at this point. The NBA Draft is Thursday, and the Spurs have yet to officially make Leonard available. If they do, however, expect LA to be aggressive in their pursuit. Any hesitation can be drawn to the injury. With Kawhi in their rotation, the Clippers could field one of the league’s top defenses and vault themselves back into contention.