Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is dealing with swelling in his right knee, the organization revealed Tuesday.
The news came on the same day that The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Leonard had undergone a knee “procedure” during the offseason.
Team president Lawrence Frank told reporters that the swelling “significantly” decreased, but that Leonard will be kept out of drills during next week’s training camp in order for him to be back at full strength.
“It’s truly unfortunate that he’s had to deal with this, but we’re trending in the right direction,” Frank said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The goal is to get him to 100 percent so he can have a great season, not just this year, but for many years.”
Frank said he wasn’t sure whether the Clippers star would be ready for the start of this season.
“I think that the timing’s all going to basically depend on how his knee responds to each phase,” he said, according ESPN. “No one has a crystal ball.”
Leonard had to sit out the last eight games of the regular season because of inflammation in his right knee and, while he did return for the playoffs, he was only able to play in Games 2 and Game 3 of their first-round series because of the issue.
The forward did attend USA Basketball’s training camp in July before USA Basketball ultimately decided to take Derrick White to the Olympics in place of Leonard.
“We got the knee in a really, really good place,” Frank said on Tuesday. “[He came] back for Dallas [in the playoffs] and it has been manageable since. But we really, really spent the offseason trying to get this 100 percent and I think we’re getting closer and closer.”
The Clippers’ season opener isn’t until Oct. 23 against the Suns at Los Angeles’ new arena, Intuit Dome.
Their first preseason game is slated to take place on Oct. 5 against the Warriors in Hawaii.
