The Los Angeles Clippers saw Paul George walk in free agency this summer, but they haven’t seemed all that concerned about the former All-Star leaving town. The hope was they could move forward with James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, along with some new faces on the supporting cast, and stay in the mix in the West, pending health.
That last bit has always been the issue for the Clippers, particularly when it comes to Leonard. His inability to be on the floor in the postseason has kept the Clippers from ever reaching their full potential as a contender, and this summer he was already a late scratch from USA Basketball and was rehabbing continued inflammation in his right knee during camp. On Thursday, Shams Charania and Ohm Youngmisuk brought word that Leonard will continue to be out indefinitely with that right knee inflammation and will miss the start of the 2024-25 season.
That’s not exactly a surprise, unfortunately, given Leonard’s injury history, but it does put a real damper on any excitement around the Clippers coming into the season. They will have to hope James Harden can really turn back the clock to be a dominant force on the offensive end, as they are lacking in the on-ball creator department if Leonard is out. While it’s possible Harden can carry them early, the concern there is that they’ll have to put too much wear-and-tear on Harden early in the season to stay afloat, and that by the time they reach the postseason push, even if Leonard is able to be on the floor, it will be Harden tapering off — and he’s had his own battles with hamstring issues in recent years.