[Holmes] “The Spurs were maybe the most respected, most revered pro sports team in America,” one former staffer said. “It was like if this guy is willing to tell those people to go f— themselves, he can’t possibly be afraid to tell us to go f— ourselves. … Everybody was afraid of Kawhi leaving
The Clippers had watched from afar how Leonard’s tenure with the Spurs had ended because of a rift over how best to manage Leonard’s health following a March 2016 lower-body injury that the team declared was quadriceps tendinopathy in 2017. ESPN’s Michael Wright and Ramona Shelburne reported in 2018 that a key part of that divide was whether Leonard’s issues were, as the Spurs believed after consulting with medical experts, degenerative and irreversible, and would need to be managed indefinitely. Leonard’s camp, including Robertson, disagreed.
Ultimately, Leonard requested a trade in the summer of 2018, with two years left on the max deal he’d signed in 2015. Even before the Clippers signed Leonard, they knew that if he could lose trust and dismantle a seven-season relationship with Spurs for such a reason, then he easily could do the same to them.
“The Spurs were maybe the most respected, most revered pro sports team in America,” one former staffer said. “It was like if this guy is willing to tell those people to go f— themselves, he can’t possibly be afraid to tell us to go f— ourselves. … Everybody was afraid of Kawhi leaving.” That sentiment was echoed by multiple team and league sources.
Across the organization, details about Leonard’s health were considered sacred secrets, multiple sources say, and a schism between those who were in the know and those who weren’t emerged early.
“He was very separate from [the Clippers’] staff,” one source with knowledge of the situation said.
“It caused extreme angst within the medical department,” another former staffer said. “It was like the Clippers’ medical staff wasn’t really allowed to touch Kawhi ever.”
In an effort to placate Leonard, news releases, public statements and social media posts that mentioned him received intense scrutiny both from the Clippers’ senior leadership and, where necessary, from Leonard’s camp, multiple sources said. While a team source said it was and is common practice for the team to run potential public statements by those representing all Clippers players, some team staffers nonetheless feared the wrong word or term in anything related to Leonard could lead to Robertson calling management and igniting a Spurs-like war.
The constant secrecy and tension surrounding Leonard – and his health – grated some staffers who interacted with players on a daily basis.
“There was clearly a heightened sensitivity,” one said.
“Everyone was so uptight,” another said. “I’m telling you, when I say uptight, I mean uptight.”
“Kawhi Leonard is an elite player and admired teammate who has made significant contributions to our organization,” the Clippers wrote in a statement to ESPN. “We treat Kawhi with the same respect as we do all of our players and staff. Unfortunately, he’s battled injuries, which have led to undue scrutiny and criticism, but we appreciate his resilience and relentless work ethic. We’re grateful he is part of our team and look forward to the start of training camp.”
After the postseason, Leonard had hoped to play for Team USA, which in mid-April had named him one of its 12 players for the Paris Olympics.
Team USA imagined Leonard as a powerful addition who could halt virtually any key international player it would face, including Serbia’s Nikola Jokic. But given Leonard’s knee inflammation, officials weren’t sure whether Leonard would be healthy enough to play.
It wasn’t until the end of June that they learned that Leonard had undergone a procedure on that knee two months earlier, in early May, which wouldn’t become public for several months.
Team USA officials were shocked to learn about the procedure after the fact, especially with training camp slated to open in early July in Las Vegas.
During camp, Leonard looked “slow and laboring,” one source who watched him said.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, who took over for Rivers in October 2020 and was a member of Steve Kerr’s coaching staff, stressed to Team USA officials that Leonard knew his body, and that if he wasn’t healthy, he wouldn’t play – but Lue emphasized that Leonard wanted to play.
Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, stressed the same. But Team USA officials were unconvinced.
“I think he thought that he could come and rehab for three weeks with [Team USA] and then he’d be ready to play in the Olympics,” one source close to the process said. Team USA couldn’t do that, sources said. Celtics guard Derrick White replaced Leonard on the roster and went on to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
While sources say Team USA officials regret how the situation played out, those same officials also recognize that Leonard’s camp hadn’t been forthcoming about the knee procedure or about his recovery.
All of it had been shrouded in secrecy.
On July 15, 2024, Frank addressed reporters about Team USA’s decision, saying he was “very disappointed” by it, that Leonard wanted to play and that, when he was there, Leonard looked healthy. Frank was asked if Leonard had undergone any type of procedures or treatment to his right knee before camp.
He declined to comment, saying he wasn’t going to get into specifics.
Source: https://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/id/46271285/inside-tumultuous-kawhi-leonard-era-la-clippers