All summer long, the biggest question in the minds of LA Clippers fans has been regarding Kawhi Leonard and his health. The superstar did not finish last season healthy, marking the fourth season in a row where the Clippers' season came to a close and Leonard was left on the sideline.
It has certainly been a disturbing trend, and Kawhi's injury to end this past season was no encouragement. He missed four of LA's six playoff games against the Dallas Mavericks as the Clippers fell in the first round. This came after a promising regular season where Leonard played his most games since the 2016-17 season.
Then in the summer, The Klaw was unable to continue with Team USA at the Olympics due to continued complications with inflammation in his knee. There was concern that he could be dealing with some sort of long-term injury. Then, on Tuesday, came a big update on Kawhi's condition from a reliable source.
According to top NBA Insider Shams Charania, Leonard underwent surgery on his knee during the offseason. There is currently no guarantee that he will be ready for the start of the regular season.
Kawhi may not be ready for the Clippers' season opener
Charania also reported that the Clippers disclosed further details regarding Kawhi's knee. Leonard will supposedly be limited to exercises aimed at strengthening his knee to begin training camp, but team officials are apparently "optimistic" about his trajectory.
All things considered, this is a massively troubling scenario for the Clippers to find themselves in less than a week from the start of training camp. Perhaps Kawhi is progressing well as the report suggests, but the fact that his knee is still in question at all seems like a big red flag.
The swelling in Leonard's knee began way back at the start of April, when Kawhi was forced to miss multiple regular season contests leading up to the start of the playoffs. You would think that having a full offseason to rest his leg would have provided some healing to Leonard's knee inflammation, but apparently what he is dealing with is relatively long-lasting.
This is simply the opposite of the kind of report you want to receive about an injury-prone player like Kawhi. His questionable status leading up to the start of the regular season does not bode well for his health this season. The best Clippers fans can do in this scenario is unfortunately to simply wait and hope Leonard takes the floor in October looking like he did during the 2023-24 season.