Kawhi Leonard could return in the next fortnight having practised with the LA Clippers on Tuesday.
Leonard has not played this season due to inflammation in his right knee, an injury that also caused him to pull out of the United States squad for the Olympic Games in Paris.
The Clippers have done pretty well without him, going 14-11, and coach Tye Lue was pleased to see Leonard back on the court.
“He did offensive script, defensive work, and just no contact,” Lue said. “But he did pretty much everything else.
“Really good sign, just seeing him out there moving, moving well. I think the biggest thing for him is just the confidence in it. Just having the confidence to keep doing it, not to feel the pain, and just continue to keep getting through it.
“So, it was good to see him on the floor and it gave us a little juice today just for our guys seeing him on the floor, it really picked up our energy.”
Jordan Miller said Kawhi Leonard snuck into Clippers practice today.
Miller: “Just the energy he brings being on the court. He kinda snuck his way in, too. Very Kawhi-like… We were doing a shooting drill beginning of practice. The next thing you know I’m passing it to Kawhi.” pic.twitter.com/PHHn3ZO9do
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) December 10, 2024
The Clippers will be cautious with Kawhi
ESPN reported Leonard could be back on the match court within two weeks but Lue was understandably preaching caution.
He added: “He’s got to do a lot more things to really get back on the floor.
“We just want to make sure he’s 100%. We don’t want to get him out there, 70%, 75%. Like, let’s just take our time, make sure we get it right. We’re not going to let him skip steps, and so we want to do right by Kawhi.
“But at some point, we need him to be Kawhi Leonard. And I think he can do that. And just seeing the year he had last year – 68 games and how he played at a high level. He was really, really playing at a high level. So we just got to get him back to that.”
