The bags are packed, and the stars are ready to represent Team USA in the Paris Olympics 2024. Steph Curry, LeBron James, and others flaunt their nation’s jerseys with full pride, dedicated to bringing home a Gold medal. But amidst the merriment came a piece of disheartening news – Los Angeles Clippers’ small forward Kawhi Leonard‘s questionable status because of his knee inflammation.

Truly, it did derail quite a lot of plans and hopes for Steve Kerr. But this isn’t the first time Leonard has faced an injury causing him to be in a questionable position.  Leonard missed a few games to get his knee surgically replaced earlier. He struggled in whatever number of games he played, missing majority of the playoffs since he couldn’t take part in any contact basketball or on-court work. The disappointments did not end there, provoking Stephen A. Smith to come out and lash out at him on the latest episode of his show on YouTube.

“You’re the Los Angeles Clippers and the perpetually injured Kawhi Leonard, who has no business being on Team USA by the way,” said Smith. “NO BUSINESS, NO BUSINESS being on Team USA. Not when you…. he’ll get injured flying to Paris. HELL NO. HELL NO.”

Smith’s disapproval started with Klay Thompson’s trade to the Dallas Mavericks after a 13-year stint with the Golden State Warriors. He highlighted a reported trade discussion between the Warriors and the LA Clippers that would have sent both Thompson and Andrew Wiggins/Jonathon Kuminga to the team in exchange for Paul George. With the same not bearing fruit and the Clippers losing Paul George to the 76ers anyway, the sportscaster took a shot at the franchise and used it to highlight his disapproval of Kawhi Leonard.

His quips followed, “And then you turn around, and you sign James Harden. 2 years, $70 million. Now, Paul George had already made it clear that he didn’t like his style of play since James Harden arrived, even though he got nothing against him personally. So, you keep, you invest in Kawhi Leonard, the perpetually injured Kawhi Leonard, thereby compromising your vault at the expense of Paul George”. 

“You look at Paul George, and you’re going to let him walk out the door for nothing. You don’t even work out a sign and trade. Clippers, this is bad!” To be honest, Stephen A. isn’t wrong. He feels Steve Ballmer isn’t doing justice to the Clippers as he’s “relying on a guy that will be sitting on a bench, and the street closed for you for more than half the time”. 

However harsh, Smith’s remarks come in after Steve Kerr gave an update on Kawhil Leonard’s status for the Olympics. “We’ve been in communication constantly. So we expect all 12 guys to be ready to roll.” Kerr’s response was not just for Leonard, but also for Tyrese Haliburton and Joel Embiid. Even though all the players were declared healthy, Stephen A. Smith directed his criticism towards a sole individual. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the 56-year-old has chosen to serve as a critic for the Clippers’ player.

Stephen A. Smith called the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George partnership a “colossal failure”

By the time Kawhi Leonard joined the LA Clippers in 2019, he was already a two-time NBA champion and a two-time Finals MVP. By forming a partnership alongside Paul George, who joined the franchise in the same year as well, the duo looked to usher in a new era for the Clippers. However, after George’s recent trade to the Philadelphia 76ers, Smith did not hold back in giving his honest yet brutal opinion about the five-year stint.

During a recent segment of ‘First Take’, with NFL legend Shannon Sharpe joining in as co-host, the 56-year-old stated “I think the way it ended, punctuated how big of a colossal failure it was”. He took a special shot at Kawhi Leonard by stating, “He basically blackmailed the Los Angeles Clippers. He (Leonard) said, ‘You want me? I need you to trade the farm. Do all of this to get Paul George. Otherwise, I’m going to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in Los Angeles.’ That’s what he did.” Smith did not appreciate the fact that the team failed to make it to the Conference Semifinals during four of the last five seasons, and that Leonard was absent most of the time during that one instance when the Clippers did go far in the playoffs.

“Kawhi Leonard is perpetually injured, end up missing 60% of your playoff games, he doesn’t do a damn thing to promote the franchise or the market…” Smith continued.

Leonard’s position as a forward will be essential for Team USA as they look to secure their fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal. With Steve Kerr’s assurance, there may be a good chance that the player may end up defying the expectations that Stephen A. Smith may have supposedly placed on him.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about the Lakers legend’s infamous feud with the late Kobe Bryant.