Clippers president Lawrence Frank ‘disappointed’ Kawhi Leonard got taken off Team USA

Clippers president Lawrence Frank ‘disappointed’ Kawhi Leonard got taken off Team USA

On the day of their first of five exhibitions ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, USA Basketball announced that Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will no longer be participating with Team USA in the Olympics due to a knee injury.

USA Basketball’s press release stated that it was in both the Clippers’ and USA’s best interest that Kawhi “spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season” instead of the Olympics; according to NBA insider Marc Spears, Leonard’s camp expressed concern about him playing–leading to believe that all sides influenced the grand decision to rest Leonard.

Though according to Clippers general manager Lawrence Frank, it was all Team USA’s call, stating multiple times he was “disappointed” in the decision, albeit understanding.

“It was [USA Basketball’s] call, and I was, quite frankly, very disappointed with the decision,” Frank said, according to Clippers beat writer Joey Linn. “[Kawhi Leonard] wanted to play; we wanted him to play.

“I expressed to them that I really wish they would’ve Kawhi more time. We have the benefit of having been around Kawhi for five years to see where he’s at. He looked good to me. I know all the sacrafices he made to make this commitment to the Olympics, so it’s very disappointing. With that being said, I understand from USA B’s perspective, they have to look to what they feel is the best interest from the team, despite what I think. … You have to forward. We support USA B and desperately want to see them win a gold medal.”

Leonard, 33, missed 12 of the Clippers’ final 14 games due to knee inflammation , having played only 70 percent of his team’s available regular season games just twice since the start of the 2016-17 season, including missing the entire 2021-22 season with a torn ACL.

It would’ve always been difficult to justify Leonard’s involvement with his recent injury history, especially if he re-injured his knee. This will be his first season in Los Angeles without star forward Paul George , who signed a four-year max with the Philadelphia 76ers early in free agency.

The Clippers retained James Harden , but they will need Leonard to be at his peak health-wise if they want to be in any sort of noise come next April/May. He’s not getting any younger, nor are his knees getting any healthier.

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