Kawhi Leonard cleared to fully participate in training camp, Clippers will be 'very cautious'
Kawhi Leonard has been cleared to participate fully in training camp next week but the LA Clippers will proceed with “step-by-step” caution. Lawrence Frank, Clippers president of basketball operations, said Leonard’s first 5-on-5 participation will take place in camp, which starts next Tuesday in Las Vegas. “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.” Frank later added: “He is cleared. For him, he’ll say, look, I want to do everything. Again, we’ll be very cautious in the approach.”
Source: Ohm Youngmisuk @ ESPN
Source: Ohm Youngmisuk @ ESPN
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
🆕️ @TheAthletic
Lawrence Frank made what is likely his only media appearance between the draft and the trade deadline this morning.
Here’s a breakdown of what he said about Kawhi Leonard’s progress, Paul George’s leadership, and the approach of LAC.
theathletic.com/3620774/2022/0… – 9:02 PM
🆕️ @TheAthletic
Lawrence Frank made what is likely his only media appearance between the draft and the trade deadline this morning.
Here’s a breakdown of what he said about Kawhi Leonard’s progress, Paul George’s leadership, and the approach of LAC.
theathletic.com/3620774/2022/0… – 9:02 PM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Kawhi Leonard fully cleared for training camp; Clippers will be ‘very cautious,’ Lawrence Frank says
https://t.co/viXsYpG6Au pic.twitter.com/Vravsp2nTD – 6:42 PM
Kawhi Leonard fully cleared for training camp; Clippers will be ‘very cautious,’ Lawrence Frank says
https://t.co/viXsYpG6Au pic.twitter.com/Vravsp2nTD – 6:42 PM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Kawhi Leonard wants to do “everything”, Clippers being cautious nba.nbcsports.com/2022/09/22/kaw… – 3:24 PM
Kawhi Leonard wants to do “everything”, Clippers being cautious nba.nbcsports.com/2022/09/22/kaw… – 3:24 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Clippers have cleared Kawhi Leonard for 5-on-5 drills, but Lawrence Frank says the team will stay “cautious” with his return. So how many games/practices will Kawhi participate in preseason? Frank: “We’re not going to get into predictions.” https://t.co/QWgRxMXTqp pic.twitter.com/ZqVAvDuZZO – 3:13 PM
Clippers have cleared Kawhi Leonard for 5-on-5 drills, but Lawrence Frank says the team will stay “cautious” with his return. So how many games/practices will Kawhi participate in preseason? Frank: “We’re not going to get into predictions.” https://t.co/QWgRxMXTqp pic.twitter.com/ZqVAvDuZZO – 3:13 PM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
Kawhi Leonard has been cleared to fully participate in camp and wants to “do everything.” But Lawrence Frank says Clippers will proceed with caution and follow Kawhi’s feedback espn.com/nba/story/_/id… – 2:46 PM
Kawhi Leonard has been cleared to fully participate in camp and wants to “do everything.” But Lawrence Frank says Clippers will proceed with caution and follow Kawhi’s feedback espn.com/nba/story/_/id… – 2:46 PM
Andrew Greif @AndrewGreif
Clippers will be cautious with a recovering Kawhi Leonard latimes.com/sports/clipper… – 2:38 PM
Clippers will be cautious with a recovering Kawhi Leonard latimes.com/sports/clipper… – 2:38 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
📰 @TheAthletic Thick-thirty: Lawrence Frank’s timely updated on Kawhi Leonard days before LA Clippers training camp
theathletic.com/3619729/2022/0… – 1:59 PM
📰 @TheAthletic Thick-thirty: Lawrence Frank’s timely updated on Kawhi Leonard days before LA Clippers training camp
theathletic.com/3619729/2022/0… – 1:59 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Frank on PG and Kawhi: “They don’t compete for who’s team it is… our guys are competing with and for each other with one goal in mind. And so we’re very lucky that our two star players have that sort of connection and appreciation for each other.” – 12:30 PM
Frank on PG and Kawhi: “They don’t compete for who’s team it is… our guys are competing with and for each other with one goal in mind. And so we’re very lucky that our two star players have that sort of connection and appreciation for each other.” – 12:30 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Frank on Clippers expectations: “All we have to do is go back two years ago to Kawhi’s injury against Utah. And you know, Kawhi was playing the best basketball player in the world… – 12:16 PM
Frank on Clippers expectations: “All we have to do is go back two years ago to Kawhi’s injury against Utah. And you know, Kawhi was playing the best basketball player in the world… – 12:16 PM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
Lawrence Frank says Kawhi Leonard is cleared for everything entering camp and that Leonard wants to participate in everything. But Frank says the team will be cautious with Leonard and see how he feels each day. pic.twitter.com/X8zKynqLbR – 12:14 PM
Lawrence Frank says Kawhi Leonard is cleared for everything entering camp and that Leonard wants to participate in everything. But Frank says the team will be cautious with Leonard and see how he feels each day. pic.twitter.com/X8zKynqLbR – 12:14 PM
Andrew Greif @AndrewGreif
Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard “feels great” and is cleared for 5-on-5 play, team president Lawrence Frank said today. Not many more specifics offered on Leonard’s preseason availability but Frank said Kawhi wants to do everything. – 12:14 PM
Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard “feels great” and is cleared for 5-on-5 play, team president Lawrence Frank said today. Not many more specifics offered on Leonard’s preseason availability but Frank said Kawhi wants to do everything. – 12:14 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Clippers’ Lawrence Frank said Kawhi Leonard is cleared to do 5-on-5 work, but he said the Clippers will be “cautious” with managing his workload during training camp pic.twitter.com/YOoWZ5YMR8 – 12:11 PM
Clippers’ Lawrence Frank said Kawhi Leonard is cleared to do 5-on-5 work, but he said the Clippers will be “cautious” with managing his workload during training camp pic.twitter.com/YOoWZ5YMR8 – 12:11 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Lawrence Frank says that Kawhi Leonard is cleared for 5-on-5. Says that he wants to do “everything” but organization is stressing the long game and a methodical approach. – 12:10 PM
Lawrence Frank says that Kawhi Leonard is cleared for 5-on-5. Says that he wants to do “everything” but organization is stressing the long game and a methodical approach. – 12:10 PM
Mirjam Swanson @MirjamSwanson
At Clippers HQ to listen in on President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank’s preseason thoughts.
On Kawhi: “He feels great, wants to participate in everything … as an organization, we want to be cautious.
“Encouraging, exciting and inspiring.” – 12:10 PM
At Clippers HQ to listen in on President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank’s preseason thoughts.
On Kawhi: “He feels great, wants to participate in everything … as an organization, we want to be cautious.
“Encouraging, exciting and inspiring.” – 12:10 PM
More on this storyline
“He continues to take more and more of an ownership and leadership role,” Frank said of George. “He had a lot to do with getting John Wall to come here… our players had player-led retreats. Paul was huge, him and Kawhi, behind that. The investment he’s made both in the gym, in the weight room, his body looks great. Just the urgency that he’s approaching it as one of the leaders and franchise players, you see a lot of growth and development, and just an intensity of his training. I think he’s had an extremely productive offseason.” -via The Athletic / September 22, 2022
“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.” -via ESPN / September 22, 2022
The Clippers will be one of the deepest teams in the league this season and that depth will help if they need to ramp Leonard back up at a cautious pace. “Basically, Kawhi’s done a lot of controlled basketball for a long time,” Frank said. “Though 5-on-5 is viewed to the layman as a benchmark, it’s more complicated than that. Ultimately, he keeps trending towards being able to play in an NBA basketball game, and so he’ll just continue to take those steps in camp.” -via ESPN / September 22, 2022