Kawhi Leonard Injury update

[madmaxmedia]

This is a bottom feeder team without Kawhi. With a healthy Kawhi 8th seed at best. Scoring will be a big struggle for us. Harden is still a very capable player but he's not the Houston Harden anymore.

Obviously I'll be very happy if they can prove me wrong.

the only way you will be wrong is if Powell and/or KPJ really step up to provide some scoring punch.

Their defense should be stronger this season

To be honest neither of those would surprise me. Powell is more or less a known quantity to us, but I expect KPJ to give us a boost after some more time working off the rust. Don't get me wrong I'm not expecting a 50 win season or anything, this is still a roster that will spend most of the year just trying to tread water. But Lue, Van Gundy and all can keep the team focused and compete, and there are a few guys with too much at stake individually to phone it in this year.

[esqtvd]

ok sure whatever

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“For the Clippers and Leonard, the good news though is they feel like he is now on a protocol and a pathway where they found some success in terms of ‘This is the plan. This is the plan we’re gonna chart.’ And they feel like they found it.

And I think Kawhi Leonard, from what I’m told, there has been some level of optimism that he has a better handle of where this swelling is at than he has in the past several months…

They don’t want him back in the lineup if it’s going to be in-and-out. They want him to be sustainable and they feel like with James Harden there they can at least tread water and play at a high level leading the ship.”

[NickP]

ok sure whatever

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“For the Clippers and Leonard, the good news though is they feel like he is now on a protocol and a pathway where they found some success in terms of ‘This is the plan. This is the plan we’re gonna chart.’ And they feel like they found it.

And I think Kawhi Leonard, from what I’m told, there has been some level of optimism that he has a better handle of where this swelling is at than he has in the past several months…

They don’t want him back in the lineup if it’s going to be in-and-out. They want him to be sustainable and they feel like with James Harden there they can at least tread water and play at a high level leading the ship.”

The sad part is I've become so numb to this drama that I really don't care if Kawhi plays or not.
All I want is a team that takes the floor and competes hard every game. I want Ty to coach his ass off every game. Win or lose, I want to watch an exciting team take the floor.

[Bobbymcgee]

Is there any way the Clippers could trade him to the Thunder to get their draft pick back and get a few of those young guys on the Thunder squad?

[wco81]

Is there any way the Clippers could trade him to the Thunder to get their draft pick back and get a few of those young guys on the Thunder squad?

I think Kawhi would have to show the top 5/top 10 form he showed last season and health at the end of the season.

Then contenders desperate to get an edge might get into a bidding war.

But it probably won't be this season, because it's the start of his big extension?

So maybe he has a good season and looks great next April, whether or not the Clippers get into the playoffs.

Then maybe during the offseason or around January 2026, there will be a lot of interest.

It's going to be tough to get a lot when teams would have to send a lot of salaries and given KL's injury history, probably hard to get a lot of draft assets back.

Again, desperation by some other teams could work in the Clippers' favor.

[esqtvd]

Re: Kawhi Leonard Injury update

I think we should make this thread a sticky. It never goes away.

[esqtvd]

blackmail

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[Bobbymcgee]

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Not a fan of Stephen A. Smith but I have to agree with his tear down of Leonard today. At this point, James Harden is much more the face of the Clippers franchise than Leonard. And that is just sad.

[MartinToVaught]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty much done with Kawhi at this point. Just trade him for whatever we can get in return so we can all go back to focusing on basketball. This constant medical drama that surrounds him was already frustrating beyond words before today.

[Clemenza]

Kawhi is becoming an albatross and acquiring him has been a disaster. Would it come to such a point that the team would say f*ck it and not care if OKC gets the pick simply to move on from Kawhi? He and his team's whole method of operation is outdated and not on board for what the team is trying to do, become, and accomplish right now. For all this to go down and be tolerated -along with his personality and not promoting the Clipper brand- he has to be playing and making deep playoff runs. And some Clipps fans got mad at Stephen A. Smith who told nothing but the truth today about Kawhi and his inner circle. It just doesn't add up anymore

[og15]

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Not a fan of Stephen A. Smith but I have to agree with his tear down of Leonard today. At this point, James Harden is much more the face of the Clippers franchise than Leonard. And that is just sad.

It's actually sad because Stephen A is more right than wrong here. Maybe one can argue with his level of criticism, but the criticism itself is true. A guy that's injured so much (okay that part isn't your fault), but then makes so many demands, everything is so secretive, and doesn't help you with marketing, that's a very tough sell.

[MartinToVaught]

Kawhi is becoming an albatross and acquiring him has been a disaster.

I genuinely can't think of anything good he's done for the Clippers. It's just been endless drama, disappointment, and franchise-ruining demands. The one WCF run was all thanks to Mann and Kenny Atkinson while Kawhi was in street clothes like always.

Now, after hundreds of millions have been spent on a player who never plays, the team's somehow getting sued for playing him too much! You can't make this up. This is the type of **** that only happens to the Clippers.

[jengmann3]

Man I typed a whole book and the page refreshed and it got erased. My main points were that I didn't listen to SAS latest rant in its totality nor have I read the article. But the situation is terrible and the Clippers messed up extending him imo. That being said I don't get the worst superstar logic. Compare him to Melo in a NYK. Kawhi made more all NBA teams (first team), won more playoff games and playoff series. Melo is a NYK legend, respect him. But I don't see how he was a better superstar. Did he have that many memorable commercials or interviews for marketability. Dwight Howard in Houston is similar. Less all NBA teams, less playoff wins. Even kd in Brooklyn . A rod Texas, Griffey Cincy. But I'm not a die hard bball/clipper fan so I'll defer to the board. Once again I think the clips should start over. The situation is putrid. But I don't think the worst superstar thing is logical. I do think sas knows more than he is saying. But Also stars make demands. Would kd have went to bk without them getting Kyrie. We all know Lebron's demands and gutting of rosters. Idk.

[esqtvd]

Man I typed a whole book and the page refreshed and it got erased. My main points were that I didn't listen to SAS latest rant in its totality nor have I read the article. But the situation is terrible and the Clippers messed up extending him imo. That being said I don't get the worst superstar logic. Compare him to Melo in a NYK. Kawhi made more all NBA teams (first team), won more playoff games and playoff series. Melo is a NYK legend, respect him. But I don't see how he was a better superstar. Did he have that many memorable commercials or interviews for marketability. Dwight Howard in Houston is similar. Less all NBA teams, less playoff wins. Even kd in Brooklyn . A rod Texas, Griffey Cincy. But I'm not a die hard bball/clipper fan so I'll defer to the board. Once again I think the clips should start over. The situation is putrid. But I don't think the worst superstar thing is logical. I do think sas knows more than he is saying. But Also stars make demands. Would kd have went to bk without them getting Kyrie. We all know Lebron's demands and gutting of rosters. Idk.

The problem is the return. A HEALTHY Kawhi could put most any top contender over the top, but all they'd have to offer is spare parts and high 20s draft picks. Kawhi is NOT a 29 year old PG or KD--whose deals never really panned out, BTW--so he's of no value to 3/4 of the teams. The massive 5-FRP haul is probably dead since the new CBA came in and if we ever see it again, it won't be for a creaky max albatross.

Until the Clippers get their picks back, treading water and trying to finish over .500 is the only smart move with the new $2B Ballmerdome. 30-win teams will turn it into a mausoleum and a laughingstock. The Toilet.

Everybody has a great point about Kawhi not being any kind of "face of the franchise." There is no value-added at all for all those tens of millions at this point. But at least there's hope. Unless we can get more than somebody's expiring contracts and monkey picks, there's no percentage in dumping him for the sake of dumping him. After this team gets some familiarity together and a defensive identity, adding Kawhi to it can create some excitement and win some games.

[MartinToVaught]

Until the Clippers get their picks back, treading water and trying to finish over .500 is the only smart move with the new $2B Ballmerdome. 30-win teams will turn it into a mausoleum and a laughingstock. The Toilet.

Intuit is a long-term investment. It's not going to disappear into the ether if we have a bad season.

Also, at this point, it would probably be easier for us to tread water without the $150 million albatross who never plays but always drags the franchise into his drama. Trading him for virtually anyone who actually plays basketball would make us a much better team.

[esqtvd]

Until the Clippers get their picks back, treading water and trying to finish over .500 is the only smart move with the new $2B Ballmerdome. 30-win teams will turn it into a mausoleum and a laughingstock. The Toilet.

Intuit is a long-term investment. It's not going to disappear into the ether if we have a bad season.

Also, at this point, it would probably be easier for us to tread water without the $150 million albatross who never plays but always drags the franchise into his drama. Trading him for virtually anyone who actually plays basketball would make us a much better team.

Reasons given above why the return may be unsatisfactory, and why waiting and hoping may be the best course. A 30-win team is not on Ballmer's agenda and I don't blame him. This is not a rebuilding team of high FRPs growing up together, this is a team of castoffs, never-wases, journeymen, Beard and Kawhi. There is nothing to build upon at the moment, and nobody's going to give us young future All-NBAers in exchange for any of them.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Kawhi is becoming an albatross and acquiring him has been a disaster.

I genuinely can't think of anything good he's done for the Clippers. It's just been endless drama, disappointment, and franchise-ruining demands. The one WCF run was all thanks to Mann and Kenny Atkinson while Kawhi was in street clothes like always.

Now, after hundreds of millions have been spent on a player who never plays, the team's somehow getting sued for playing him too much! You can't make this up. This is the type of **** that only happens to the Clippers.

they wouldn't have beat Dallas without Kawhi, so it disingenuous to say they would have made the WCF without him

[MartinToVaught]

Reasons given above why the return may be unsatisfactory, and why waiting and hoping may be the best course. A 30-win team is not on Ballmer's agenda and I don't blame him. This is not a rebuilding team of high FRPs growing up together, this is a team of castoffs, never-wases, journeymen, Beard and Kawhi. There is nothing to build upon at the moment, and nobody's going to give us young future All-NBAers in exchange for any of them.

Nobody's expecting young future all-NBAers in return for him at this stage. But pretty much anyone who actually suits up and plays in games is still better than the non-contribution we get from Kawhi. It's not a high bar.

[esqtvd]

Reasons given above why the return may be unsatisfactory, and why waiting and hoping may be the best course. A 30-win team is not on Ballmer's agenda and I don't blame him. This is not a rebuilding team of high FRPs growing up together, this is a team of castoffs, never-wases, journeymen, Beard and Kawhi. There is nothing to build upon at the moment, and nobody's going to give us young future All-NBAers in exchange for any of them.

Nobody's expecting young future all-NBAers in return for him at this stage. But pretty much anyone who actually suits up and plays in games is still better than the non-contribution we get from Kawhi. It's not a high bar.

Asked and answered. Ballmer has 4 billion dollars sunk into this and he's not going to sit there and be a happy loser out of spite and frustration. Look at him

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A 30-win team is not on Ballmer's agenda and I don't blame him. This is not a rebuilding team of high FRPs growing up together, this is a team of castoffs, never-wases, journeymen, Beard and Kawhi. There is nothing to build upon at the moment...

Anyone who says things can't get any worse has no imagination. Unless somebody gets some bright idea on how to get a workable return, Ballmer's plan is clearly to muddle through. There IS a plan to extract some minutes out of Kawhi. Maybe something good will happen.

[esqtvd]

another reason Ballmer can't throw a 30-win team out there lol

wtf

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