“I feel good. Just been taking my time, getting stronger and getting ready.” Through his remarks a couple of days ago, Kawhi Leonard highlighted being quite confident about his improving health. The player’s status for the upcoming regular season had been placed under doubt thanks to the right knee inflammation that he developed back in March. While the same was not thought to cause significant concern back then, complications from the injury have been worrisome. However, the past couple of months have given Kawhi plenty of time to rest. Despite this and Leonard’s confidence in himself, the Clippers head coach is not ready to put his player on the court yet.

Earlier today, in the aftermath of the matchup between the LA Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks, NBA reporter Tomer Azarley highlighted a recording of Ty Lue’s presser. During the same, when asked about the availability status of Kawhi Leonard, the head coach replied that fans shouldn’t expect him to make an appearance during Thursday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. As of right now, the priority in regards to Leonard was to allow him to “continue to keep rehabbing, keep getting better, and keep checking the boxes.”

Given that the Sacramento Kings matchup will be the last game of the Clippers before the commencement of the regular season, this means that Kawhi Leonard is set to miss the entirety of the 2024 preseason. While Ty Lue did not give any update about the player’s availability for the season opener, the six-day time gap between the Kings and the Phoenix Suns games may not be that big. Therefore, until any official confirmation comes around, it may be speculated that Kawhi Leonard’s absence will continue.

After enduring the trouble that his knee caused during the latter part of the 2024 season and during Team USA’s training camp, Shams Charania reported that the 2x NBA champion had undergone a procedure on his right knee during the offseason. Having gotten the same procedure earlier as well, it was reported that the recovering ailment would limit the player to just “strengthening his knee to start training camp, but team officials are optimistic about his progress.”

Clippers executive Lawrence Frank had earlier reported that the swelling from Leonard’s knee was almost gone. Despite this, they wanted to hold him back from drill work, placing special emphasis specifically on strengthening.

“We’ll have a detailed plan, step by step, have objective measures to go from one phase to the next but he’s super determined, super excited, and can’t wait to get started,” said Frank. Despite Leonard’s enthusiasm, his needs have been placed in the backseat due to his health. Fortunately, Ty Lue has made it known that he is fine with the choice he made between the two options.

Ty Lue doesn’t mind ‘pissing off’ Kawhi Leonard when prioritizing his health

After losing their preseason debut against the Golden State Warriors, Kawhi Leonard’s presence must have been wished upon by several fans. After all, without the player who averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists during the previous regular season, the odds wouldn’t have been in favor of the Clippers. Add the fact that they are now playing without Paul George for the first time in 5 years, and their future without Leonard would seem bleak. Even if the Klaw himself wanted his presence on the court after the Warriors game, Ty Lue made it clear that he wouldn’t allow it.

According to NBA reporter Farbod Esnaashari, the head coach gave an update on Kawhi Leonard’s condition over a week ago by stating, “The biggest thing for us is making sure we do right by Kawhi. Not let him hurt himself as he tries to get back… If he gets pissed off at us while protecting him, so be it.”

The last few days have shown that Lue has lived up to his words to do what seems to be best for Leonard’s recovery. Having come so close to progressing further in the playoffs last season, and with one-star player now gone, the 6x NBA All-Star possibly stands as the only hope for the Clippers to repeat, or even go beyond, their progress from the 2024 season.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.