Patience has paid off. The LA Clippers are finally about to achieve what they longed for, a healthy roster. Since the 2019-20 season, the team has been on an unfortunate run, losing their stars to injuries on a rotational basis. In fact, it’s hard even to keep track of the number of minutes-restrictions that Kawhi Leonard had operated on throughout his Clips stint. After a delayed debut this season, the star forward has played 7 games at an average of 22.4 minutes per game. And that’s about to change amid the team’s latest trade stance ahead of the deadline.

After losing Paul George and Russell Westbrook in the off-season, it seemed as if the Clippers would look desperate. However, that wasn’t the case. The team went with what had and trusted its veterans, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. Out of which, one of them wasn’t 100% fit. Despite the trouble, the team stuck with what they had. Well, there’s a reason behind it.

Anyway, for now, the team has finally reaped the benefits of their patience. Ahead of tonight’s match-up against the Phoenix Suns, Coach Ty Lue announced the team will increase Leonard’s minutes following his impressive outing against the Bucks.

During the 2024 off-season, Kawhi Leonard abruptly backed out of Team USA’s Paris Olympics trip, citing his knee injury management. While the Clips fans seemed happy about it in the beginning, little did they know about the implications surrounding his return to the floor. Now that the star has returned, he has already shown promising signs.

Notably, the visuals of Leonard’s special dribble moves to deceive both Giannis and Dame at the perimeter and finish with a tough layup still rule the internet. However, it’s still surprising how the Clippers front office stayed put despite the uncertain nature of the roster ahead of the season.

Why didn’t the Clippers force a trade despite Kawhi Leonard’s uncertainty?

If not for the start of the season, the team could have at least made a move ahead of the deadline to strengthen the roster for the playoffs. Currently, in the sixth seed with a 26-19 record, the team still has a long way to solidify its spot in the postseason. So, ideally, it’s safer to think about a backup. But Steve Ballmer has other ideas.

According to NBA Insider Jake Fischer, the Clippers are “still keen on keeping their books clean”. With only a handful of days remaining before the deadline, the team intends to send messages to their rivals that they are “reluctant” to make any long-term salary in the potential trade. Everything of this has to do with Leonard.

The star has two more seasons left in his latest $149 million contract and Steve Ballmer looks to keep the record clean until Leonard’s contract matures. In the words of Fischer, “The Clippers appear to be setting themselves up to try to truly capitalize on owner Steve Ballmer’s well-chronicled willingness to spend and the allure of their shiny new Intuit Dome home when Leonard’s tenure concludes.” 

So, the Terminator has two more seasons to prove himself. Will he win a ring in that tenure? Let us know in the comments.