“We want our guys to be able to be at their best when their best is needed, which is, you know, April, May and June,” Frank said. “So to be able to give some of those heavy load carriers [rest] where they’re not overtaxed at that time, yet there’s enough continuity that there’s rhythm there.”
Kawhi Leonard, who missed all of last season for the Clippers while recovering from a torn ACL, has been cleared to be a full five-on-five participant in next week’s training camp, but president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank says the team will remain cautious with its star forward, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“He feels great,” Frank said at the team’s practice facility. “His plan is, look, he wants to participate in everything. And I think organizationally, we’re going to be cautious. So it will be a step-by-step approach.”
“He is cleared.” Frank later added. “For him, he’ll say, look, I want to do everything. Again, we’ll be very cautious in the approach.”
Frank said it’s a balancing act between allowing Leonard to compete and preserving his health.
“There’s constant communication with seeing where he’s at,” Frank said, per Mark Medina of NBA.com. “The toughest thing is when a guy really, really wants to go ahead and try to do everything. You just assess it and just have those conversations. What everyone can agree on is, ‘What is the goal? So, what’s the best way to get there?’ If it’s close, you exercise some caution when you’re coming back from a serious injury like this.”
According to Youngmisuk, Frank was noncommittal when asked whether Leonard would play in preseason games, saying the team plans to take it one day at a time.
“When you’re dealing with a major injury, you can’t predict,” Frank said. “I know with him, he wants to do everything, but we’ll just kind of let’s see how he feels each day. We have an outstanding medical team, and we’re playing the long game with it. So we’re not going to get into predictions, what he will do or he won’t do.
“… We’ll figure out, is that best for his body? One day it may be. The next day, we’ll have to reassess. We’ll rely on the feedback we get from Kawhi, obviously from the medical team. It’s too early to predict. We have time before we need to get there.”
Frank also says Paul George‘s right elbow is fully healed, and the star forward is developing into more of a leader. George missed three months with a torn UCL in 2021/22 prior to returning at the end of the season.
“His elbow is 100 percent healthy,” Frank said, per Youngmisuk. “Paul has had an extremely purposeful, driven, and very productive off-season, in that his consistency of training has been off the charts. Plus, he continues to take more and more of an ownership and leadership role. You know, he had a lot to do with getting John Wall to come here.”
It won’t just be Leonard that the team is cautious with. The Clippers have championship aspirations and plan to rely on their depth, so periodic rest could be a store for a number of veterans throughout the season, as Andrew Grief of The Los Angeles Times relays.
Remember when he was on his way out from San Antonio & he was the popular guy to hate sorta like Ben & Russ are now. Lol yall got somebody new every yr I swear. But yea this guy is an absolute beast. I’d be surprised if he’s not back All NBA
As a Ben hater, I watched the entire JJ interview. Ben certainly got a lot of hate because the holes in his game are easier to point out than the holes of most others. The fact is, the best part of Bens game are at an elite level, and the worst parts of his game likely will not change. He and Russ are connected in that way actually.
Point is, I was wrong. I was very wrong. Ben is a baller. He will show that on the court.
Now all that’s left is to find someone else to hate right
You and KAT are neck and neck don’t worry
After two bottles of wine and some loaded questions from Reddick crying Ben finally got around to not answering why he choked at crunch time.
The difference is Kawhi won a championship in Toronto and was a major reason for that.
But also, plenty of people still rip Kawhi and his durability.
Durability is 1 thing, it’s been the “load management” when he was healthy that’s always gotten me.
Paul George is a great two way wing. He’s never really been a leader but I do see him growing and maturing. I love the fact he got my boy John Wall over there with him. John Wall is one of my favorite players in the NBA and I want to see him do great. Injuries have stole a lot of great years from him. But I think he’s finally fully healthy and going to ball out. Now the Los Angeles Clippers don’t need him to be what he was in Washington and giving them 20 points and 10 assists. They only need him for 14 points and 8 assists. Solid defense and being efficient.
Kawhi gonna play 30 games this year just to rest for the postseason.
kawai gets babied. i love him as a player but he got the injury the postseason BEFORE last. had that whole summer + a year + another summer and theyre still not letting him go all out. let that man play ball
Board man gets load managed
Kawhi Leonard is probably going to load manage for the rest of his career.
It shouldn’t be a big issue because his game is built for the playoffs.
If you a organization you can live with that.
If healthy Kawhi Leonard is a top 5 player in the NBA and definitely a top ten.
He’s a two way player that is great on both ends. He’s the best two way wing in the NBA. Then I’ll say Jimmy Butler.
Kawhi Leonard has two NBA Championships and two Finals MVPs and brought the Toronto Raptors their first championship in franchise history.
He’s all ready a first ballot hall of fame player.
I’m tired of all these fans and critics always talking negative about all these great players.
Let them be great and respect their greatness. We definitely going to miss them when they gone