Clippers reveal Kawhi Leonard underwent ACL surgery, no timetable for return
After leading the LA Clippers to victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series, Kawhi Leonard was asked about an apparent knee injury he suffered late in the game.
"I’ll be good," he said.
The comment was made back on June 14, and when the NBA star will actually "be good," continues to be a moving target. Leonard didn’t play another game in the postseason – not even in a six-game defeat to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals.
Then on Tuesday, the Clippers finally pulled back the curtain a bit on the severity of Leonard’s injury.
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While there had been plenty of speculative chatter around Leonard's injury before Tuesday, the Clippers had merely referred to it as a right knee sprain and evaluated him on a game-by-game basis. So news that he had undergone surgery came as a surprise.
The team said on Tuesday that the procedure was deemed successful, but they also said there was no timetable for his return, leaving the whole situation in an uncertain place, which could have far-reaching implications for both the player and his team.
Leonard was the driving force for the Clippers this past season, earning a third-straight All-Star nod while averaging 24.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.2 APG and 1.6 SPG. He was even better in the playoffs, averaging 30.4 points and 7.7 boards while shooting 57.3% from the field.
While Paul George stepped up in Leonard’s absence late in the postseason, it was not enough to overcome the Suns.
The question now is what does the injury mean for the Clippers moving forward?
Leonard has a player option for the upcoming season that would earn him $36 million if he decides to opt in. Back in December, Leonard said that if he was healthy, it would probably make sense for him to decline the option and test his value on the open market.
His surgery could change that, especially if it looks like he won’t be ready to start the 2021-22 season on time.
Taking the player option with the Clippers would not only give Leonard a large guaranteed payday, it would also give him a shot to sign a four-year, $181.5 million extension, according to ESPN.
That situation could potentially put pressure on George to carry the Clippers through the first part of the season, according to Law Murray, the Clippers beat writer for The Athletic.
"How successful George is in that endeavor could determine not just how well the Clippers are in a position to make the 2022 playoffs, but also whether or not Leonard returns at all," Murray wrote.
But there is also a chance that Leonard doesn't take the option and opts out of his contract.
Skip Bayless detailed on "Undisputed" how he believes Leonard might be unhappy with an initial misdiagnoses of his injury by the Clippers medical staff that could lead to even more fallout.
"I'm not so sure he won't go elsewhere. I have no idea where elsewhere would be. I know Pat Riley would like to get in the middle of this, I'm pretty sure the [New York] Knicks would. My point is things have now changed for the Clippers, very possibly for the worst."
Leonard already has a history of turning his back on a franchise when he feels they have not prioritized his health, evidenced by his split with the San Antonio Spurs in 2018 after he and the team struggled to get on the same page in regards to a quadriceps injury he had suffered.
Regardless of the nature of the injury, Shannon Sharpe doesn't seeing it having any impact on Leonard's free agency this summer.
"You're still Kawhi, you're a superstar. You're one of those five players that every team will move heaven and earth for. They [Clippers] have already moved it… I just know he still has all of the leverage."
This injury news adds a wrinkle into the upcoming NBA offseason, one that wasn't expected.
And now, just two years into the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George era in Los Angeles, the Clippers are facing a potential reality where that era is coming to a swift conclusion.
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