Clippers star Kawhi Leonard underwent successful surgery today to repair a partial tear of his right ACL, per a Clippers press release.
There is no timetable for Leonard’s return, according to the team. However, the diagnosis suggests that his recovery could extend into the 2021/22 season.
Leonard only managed to play in four games during the Clippers’ second-round series against the Jazz before being sidelined with the knee injury that kept him on the shelf for the entire Western Finals vs. Phoenix. He had previously dealt with lingering leg injuries, including the mysterious quad injury that effectively ended his time with the Spurs.
The two-time Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Finals MVP has a player option to return to the Clippers next season, or he can decline the option and become an unrestricted free agent. He has long been expected to take the latter route, if only to sign a new contract with Los Angeles, since he’ll be eligible for a higher maximum salary this offseason.
Dang get well soon brotha we missed you this postseason…
Partial tear if ACL is what Dinwiddie had. And they been telling us it’s just a sore Knee. Means he’s out for YEAR. I was LA I sign him and trade him. They can redo team and be even better than last yr. DeRozan would love to end career in LA. And he’s a FA. They can get slit for Kawhi. This is good business if you ask me.
Isn’t it a player option?
Yes, it is. It’s a player option.
Leonard’s contract with the Clippers is a three-year deal that features a player option worth $36 million for the final season. … Given that he’ll assuredly secure a new longer and more lucrative deal in free agency, it’s very likely Leonard, 29, will indeed opt out of that final year of his current deal.
link to cbssports.com
I like Kawhi. But they can sell high here. They are losing a yr if they keep him.
They can do what the Warriors did with KD by working out a sign and trade.
Kawhi wouldn’t want to sign with any team that has enough cap space to sign him.
Unfortunately for Golden State they would be hard-capped if they get a player from another team through a sign and trade, so Marty can forget that plan.
That’s a lot …. for him
Wow. Derozan for Kawhi is terrible.
well now, that took a second. thanks for the old news kawhi.
Exactly. I don’t understand the delay here. A month long delay in announcing an ACL injury isn’t something I’d feel great about if I was a Clips fan.
It’s possible he could have played at some point, even with the injury, if they got far enough, although obviously not at full capacity. It’s also possible they tried to avoid surgery with something like plasma injections or whatever. To be honest, some organizations dont confirm injuries at all. The Heat dont
They had to wait for the swelling to go down before they could operate. That’s the delay.
Hey FYI he played in more than 4 games in the postseason cause of the Mavs series!
It was his quad not calf that was the mystery in San Antonio
Wow what a shocker.
IDK whether Clippers can afford to wait one more year for him, although him walking will be a bigger disaster. Most important question is whether the important role players such as Batum want to. I think this increases the chances of a young contender such as Mavs, Hawks, and Nuggets who can afford to wait a year, although the latter two needs to dump some contracts.
Nuggets is a very interesting spot, as they title chances are slim without Murray. They can just load manage Jokic, have a down year and be back to title contention the year after.
Doctors are saying the “safe” move is 12 months. Man, this sucks, no Kawhi next year.
PG13 to GSW rumors gotta go crazy now. No way are LAC winning without Kawhi.
If Kawhi is expected to be out for 12 months, then there’s no reason to think that Klay will be ready when the season starts in October. A torn Achilles injury is even worse than an ACL injury.
Warriors fans know this. Klay has said himself that he’s not sure he’ll be ready. The understanding is that November is the target.
Plenty teams would trade for him and wait a yr. LA has his Bird rights. So they could do it. But would they. I’m saying I would explore it. And if there are great offers. I do it.
Kawhi wouldn’t agree to an extension if he knew they would trade him. That would kill their rep with other would be FA.
Unless he signs a no trade clause.
lol they should trade Kawhi for Ben Simmons. LA gets a guy that helps clamp Luka,Lillard,Lebron. they already have alot of offensive weapons. i knows its unlikely
The funny part is that trade would definitely require draft picks going back to Phily, but OKC has LAC’s 2022 first rounder.
Fans dont understand just how screwed the Clippers are – they are hard capped and have no draft pick next year – they’re like GSW the last 2 years but GSW has all their picks.
All that load management paying off.
Partial tear isnt nearly as bad as a full tear. He should be fine by January/februaryish, j would think. Obviously, its different for an elite athlete than a random, but partial tear is a lot easier to recover from than full tears, coming from someone that has done both several times
Its the same thing, believe me, a partial tear is the same as a full tear, the pain is the same, rehabbing and all… Unless you experienced a different scenario and you’re robo cop…
Oh it definitely still sucks. Didnt say it didnt. Actually at least 1 of the times I partially tore my acl, it did hurt worse than some of my full tears. I’m just saying that’s like 7ish months away, which is doable for someone like him, and even if its after that, there is still enough time before the playoffs where he should theoretically be fine
That makes sense. So about AS break next year. Dinwiddie did a partial tear this season and was questionable for the playoffs so that lines up.
Then again Kawhi likes to play it safe so I could see him taking the year, who knows.
All the professional doctors are saying the riskiest scenario is 6 months and safest case is 12 months. Knowing Kawhi, he’s probably going to sit out the year and be a FA after, when he can see where the dust settles on all the other teams and join the best possible one – which might still mean LAC but again, it’s Kawhi, we won’t hear anything from or about him all year.
Waiting on his self absorbed uncle to throw the Clips Medical team under the bus. Spurs made him who he is and yet the bit the hands that feed him. As far as this season, he was very inconsistent and wasn’t the leader the team hopped for. They should let him walk, pursue a playmaker like Sexton, bring back Reggie as back up. I don’t see them wining next year championship but you never know
Oh please, Kawhi had 5.5 WS in his ROOKIE year as a 20 year old – he made himself, Spurs didn’t do a damn thing. Stop this nonsense, you are just hurt he left – replacing him with Sexton (who they cant afford) – just a clueless, crybaby take right here – show respect to the legend you oaf.
Kawhi! Man what a joke. Load management and scorning Lebron and LA to end up on another Broken Clipper squad. Then he hides from the media for a month so they don’t talk about his injury and call him injury prone. Smh. Well at least he has more heart than Durant!!
lol so u u wanted another broken big 3 on the lakers. u fans complained about KD and then say crap like this
Where in my comment did I say I wanted him on the Lakers? I simply pointed out his various ineptitudes with regards to his decision making.
“There’s no such thing as a partial tear… Thats what the ortho doctor told me
Yeah, Acuna fully tore his and they’re saying he will be fine by May/June next year. The rehab and time it takes to heal is exactly the same no matter what.