It is one of the great unknowns for the 2021-22 season: will we see Kawhi Leonard return or will he be low throughout the campaign? Nobody knows. Adding to the well-known secrecy surrounding the Clippers star is his complicated relationship with injuries, which began in San Antonio and has continued to this day. Faced with such a scenario, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank can’t help but say he doesn’t know how events will unfold.
“At this point, no one knows how long he will be dealing with recovering from an injury like the one he suffered. Even if we talk about it appearing at the end, the answer is that nobody knows. It just attacks you day by day. He has a very detailed plan with a large group, and we will let his body and the doctors tell us when is the right time, “he says in statements collected by Mirjam Swanson from Orange County Register.
Although the doubts about this season are obvious, the Angelenos had in the summer the satisfaction of closing the continuity of the two-time Finals MVP with a four-year, $ 176 million extension. Such an agreement makes them look to the future with optimism and confidence.
“The fact that he has not only decided to remain a Clipper, but has firmly planted his flag in the ground, I think is great. It’s the validation of a lot of different things, like the organization Steve and the group have built so that people of Kawhi’s talent want to be a Clipper for a long time, ”he explains.
Going back to the season that begins in weeks, the truth is that the Clippers know that they are one team with Kawhi and another without him. In the last playoffs they showed that they can compete without the forward, but it seems insufficient to aspire to anything more than reaching the postseason even if Paul George is at his best. We have to wait to know if Leonard will accompany them in the decisive part of 2021-22.
(Photograph by Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
