The Clippers made it to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history last season, but they’ll have to wait quite a while for Kawhi Leonard to return from the partially torn ACL he suffered in the playoffs — possibly until the 2022/23 season.
President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank says the team doesn’t even broach the subject of Leonard’s recovery timeline, stating that “no one knows” when he’ll return, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
In the same piece, Youngmisuk relays that Serge Ibaka, who’s recovering from back surgery, will be limited to non-contact drills at the start of training camp, according to Frank.
Youngmisuk also notes that rookie Jason Preston, the 33rd pick in the draft, suffered a foot injury in a group workout recently and will not be available for the start of training camp, which begins next Tuesday, September 28th. Frank said team physicians will determine the severity of the injury in the next couple of days.
Frank declined to say whether all of the players and staff members on the team are fully vaccinated, per Youngmisuk, although he did say that he’s a “huge advocate of the vaccinations.”
There’s more on the Clippers:
- Zach Harper of The Athletic gave the Clippers a B-minus for their offseason moves. He liked their draft picks and thought Justise Winslow and Harry Giles were decent “buy-low” pickups, but states that ultimately their offseason will depend on how Leonard and Ibaka recover from their surgeries.
- The Clippers announced in a press release that Brian Shaw and Jay Larranaga will be assistant coaches under Tyronn Lue. The team also promoted Shaun Fein to assistant coach. Shaw’s and Larranaga’s additions were reported in July. Shaw played 14 seasons in the NBA and was the former head coach of the Lakers and Nuggets. He spent last season as the head coach of G League Ignite. Larranaga was an assistant with the Celtics the past nine seasons.
- In the same release, the Clippers said former NBA player Wesley Johnson will be joining the team in a coaching and development role, along with Cookie Belcher.
- Frank loves Patrick Beverley and said it wasn’t easy parting with him, but he’s excited for what new addition Eric Bledsoe will bring to the team, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (via Twitter).
Clippers get Winslow and Giles as notable free agent signings. Plus made a trade for Bledsloe. Now they don’t have Rondo and Beverly.
Lakers on the other had made a trade for Russ and get a bunch of FA like Howard, Jordan, Melo, Monk, Ariza, Nunn and so on.
Clippers and Lakers went from being a close match up and the battle of LA to Lakers staying dominant and the clippers just being pretenders.
Clippers need to make a move in order to catch up.
1. John Wall and a second round pick for Eric Belsoe, Luke Kennard and Ivan Zubac
2. Luke Kennard and Ivan Zubac for Montrez Harrell and KCP
3. Luke Kennard and a second round pick for Josh Richardson and Jabari Parker
1. Wall PG Kawhi Morris Ibaka that’s a title contender if everyone can be healthy.
Could rest Wall with Jackson capable again starting and Mann as a back up too
Sends Clippers back to fishing for some FA’s, Isiah Thomas, DeMarcus Cousins, Wes Mathews
2. Harrell has to swallow his pride a little but this move would make him relevant again and boost his value on a contract year. Would give the Clippers a huge bench boost
3. Possibly the most unlikeliest but Celtics don’t need JRichs defence and could take a flyer on Kennard youth and shooting. Clippers get back 2 possible role players for the price of 1.
Sorry, but I don’t like any of those moves. I don’t like their guard setup for playmaking and defense. You have overpriced Bledsoe and Kennard who are more questionable than positive. KCP is okay, but he’s also overpaid. I’d be fine with TJ McConnell as the backup to Jackson. Defense and distribution
I dont see Wiz or Mavs being interested in Luke Kennard so 2 and 3 are way out in my eyes
I could see Clips making a desperate play for Wall as they are one of the few teams able to match salaries and potentially desperate enough
Yeah Wall could be an option out of desperation.
Wizards apparently want to add shooting and obviously look to be going into a rebuild so maybe they like the look of Kennard. And with Bryant returning from injury maybe they like him at centre. Harrell from the Wizards perspective is probably not ideal at centre cause he’s short and doesn’t space either, and KCP is just a vet that’ll leave.
The third deal is the Celtics not the Mavs. Again with Schroder, Smart and others likely lack a shooter in the backcourt and so maybe they would be interested in going from JRich to Kennard. Plus they may like that long term wise he could be a fit with Brown and Tatum if he improves
Boy, is Jerry West still with the Clippers? Looking at their team & injuries they look bad.