It is no secret that the Clippers franchise has been in the shadow of their city rivals for most of their history. However, over the past decade, the club has been determined to come out of their underdog shell, invest in All-Star caliber players, and even compete for the NBA title. This is why Kawhi Leonard first signed for the team in 2019.
Even though they are yet to win a championship, Kawhi and his teammates took the L.A. squad all the way to the Western Conference Finals just four years ago. Now that the new season is about to start, and the veteran forward continues to recover from the same injury that kept him out of last campaign’s playoff round, a lot is being said about Leonard.
In a recent GQ article, written by Sam Schube, the journalist revealed that the 33-year-old explained to him why he had made the surprising decision to play for the Clippers after his success in Toronto. According to this interview, the superstar wanted to build a legacy for a team that lacked one.
Breaking: Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is expected to be sidelined for an indefinite period of time to start the NBA season as he rehabilitates the inflammation in his right knee, sources tell @ShamsCharania and @NotoriousOHM. pic.twitter.com/d9yBevAqis
— ESPN (@espn) October 17, 2024
“During his free agency, in 2019, Leonard was rumored to be a Lakers target before ultimately opting for the other Staples Center locker room. ‘I just wanted to go to a franchise where I could try to help build a legacy,’ he told me this spring,” Schube wrote, as it was well known that many teams wanted his talents.
Sources revealed that the Lakers were one of the teams looking to trade for him 5 years ago. “I was very close. Real close. But when [the Clippers] presented the opportunity of playing with [Paul George], it was easy, it was a yes. I said let’s get it going,” Leonard shared back in the day.
Sadly for the All-Star, after the team’s appearance in the 2021 West’s Finals, his leadership in Los Angeles has been tainted by one major injury after another. “… We’re just taking it slow, day by day and just trying to get me back on the floor. Once those conversations come, we’ll see what they’re talking about [on the best approach for back-to-backs],” Kawhi said this month about his current situation.
Other players around the league have shown support for Leonard, explaining how this is out of his own control. “Obviously, the man wants to play. He plays every chance he gets, he goes out there, tries to play, and he comes back still looking like Kawhi Leonard, balling. He averaged 20 points, 50% from the field, and 40% from three last year,” Draymond Green said recently.
NBA players have defended Kawhi after Kendrick Perkins suggested that the Clippers star should start thinking of retirement at his current age of 33
Kendrick Perkins has never missed an opportunity to throw darts at Leonard, who is once again missing out of NBA action due to his constant injuries. Recently, the analyst gave his take on why the player should consider retirement, while other basketball colleges have criticized Perk for his lack of understanding.
“As an athlete, to know that a guy who people have questioned—like whether he’s cheated the game—but clearly, as you look at what’s happened over time, the man hasn’t cheated the game. He got better from the time he came into the NBA. He improved everything: ball handling, shooting, you name it,” Draymond stated.
What really makes the Warriors star sick of these kinds of comments, is the fact that they are thrown out in the air for pure clickbait, but actually prove to be with great lack of empathy. Dray noted that no one was calling Perk for his retirement late in his career.
“So, to hear Perk say, ‘Yeah, he needs to retire; he needs to consider retiring,’ I thought that was crazy. During Perk’s last three years in the NBA, nobody was pushing him to retire, and everybody probably should have. The man averaged 2.5 points for three years straight: 2.5, 3.5, 2.0, and nobody was really pushing him to retire,” said the Golden State forward.
