Clippers Notes: Leonard, Jones, Mann

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has yet to make his season debut due to a right knee injury. After participating in the non-contact portions of practices last week, the 33-year-old forward was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, including contact drills, according to head coach Tyronn Lue (Twitter link via Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times).

While it’s obviously a positive sign that Leonard has progressed to the point where he’s able to do contact work, he will remain out for the team’s three-game road trip, which starts Thursday in Dallas and ends Monday in Memphis. Leonard will travel with the team, however, per Lue.

Here’s more on the Clippers:

• Los Angeles will have multiple days off after Monday’s game, with the team’s next contest coming vs. Golden State on December 27. Law Murray of The Athletic predicts that Leonard will make his season debut on that date, given his current rate of progress (Twitter link). If that comes to fruition, Leonard will have missed the first 30 games of the 2024/25 season.
• Derrick Jones is ahead of schedule in his return timeline, as the 27-year-old was a limited practice participant on Wednesday, per Murray (Twitter link). Los Angeles announced eight days ago that Jones, who is recovering from a right hamstring strain, would be reevaluated in two weeks, but he’s officially questionable for Thursday’s matchup with the Mavs, tweets Turner. A free agent addition over the offseason, the high-flying Jones has started all 25 games in which he’s appeared this season.
• Another injured Clipper, swingman Terance Mann, was able to do some “shooting and some ball-handling stuff” in Wednesday’s practice, according to Lue (Twitter link via Murray). As Murray notes, Mann had surgery to repair a broken finger on his non-shooting hand a couple weeks ago and is set to be reevaluated next week. Murray suggests Mann could return in a couple weeks during another three-game road trip (Dec. 30 – Jan. 2).