Kawhi Leonard’s prognosis has gone from bad to worse.
The Los Angeles Clippers All-Star said in September that he planned to play in Wednesday’s season opener following the revelation that he underwent an offseason knee procedure. Last week, news broke that Leonard would be out indefinitely with lingering knee inflammation that sidelined him during the playoffs last season.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Leonard will miss “weeks” with the injury.
“I’m told Kawhi Leonard will be missing weeks,” Charania reported Wednesday. “This is not an injury that’s going to be measured by a week, two weeks, potentially. Not days, obviously.
“This will be an extended period of time that the Clippers are starting this season without him.”
That’s not great news for a retooled Clippers team that planned to lean even more on Leonard after losing All-Star Paul George in free agency to the Philadelphia 76ers after failing to agree to terms on a long-term contract.
When healthy, Leonard remains one of the game’s most dangerous two-way players. He’s an elite defender who averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.6 steals last season while shooting 41.7% from 3-point range.
But his health and availability is a constantly moving target that’s plagued his career since the end of his stint with the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard’s 68 games played last season were his most since joining the Clippers in 2019. But knee inflammation sidelined him for the final eight games of the regular season and for four of six playoff games in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the postseason.
Prior to last season, Leonard hadn’t played in more than 57 games in any of his previous four seasons with the Clippers. He missed the entire 2021-22 campaign with a torn ACL. Now he’s on pace to miss another significant portion the regular season.
Leonard’s absence means the Clippers will rely more on James Harden and offseason acquisitions Derrick Jones Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. to shoulder the load. The Clippers open their season Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns. They’ll do so at home in the first regular-season game at the team’s new Inglewood home, the Intuit Dome.