LA Clippers Give Honest Statement on Kawhi Leonard's Health

For a fourth straight year, Kawhi Leonard hasn't been healthy in the NBA Playoffs. As a result, the Clippers have underachieved in the NBA Playoffs for a fourth straight year. Every year, it seems like an uncertainty on whether or not Leonard will play, and this year was no different.

Now that the season is officially over for the Clippers, the team's President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank gave some clarity on Leonard's injury. It turns out, that Kawhi Leonard would not have even played a Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.

“Look, if we had a game today, Kawhi would not be able to play," Lawrence Frank said during an exit interview. "He’d be out. We’re still dealing with the inflammation. As I said the prior two times, the encouraging thing is this seems big picture, minor in nature, in that it’s not a structural thing. I think the reality is that we’re going to continue to try to learn how to manage his right knee. He's had two surgeries on his knee, but he’s shown that he can be durable."

The Clippers have tried every single avenue when it comes to Kawhi Leonard. They've tried load managing him, they've tried respecting the regular season and having him play a full amount of games, but it just doesn't seem to matter. This season, more than any other, it feels like the team was the most unlucky with Leonard's health.

"The unfortunate, just call it unlucky, is here’s a guy who played 68 games during that stretch where we went 26 and 5," Lawrence Frank said. "He showed that he’s that guy still, he’s one of the top players in this league. He’s a great player, he’s a ceiling raiser. As you guys know, why great players are so hard to get in this league, they have an overweighted ability to impact the game."

While the Clippers want to run it back with their core-three next season, Lawrence Frank knows that the team still has to improve on the margins. However, it doesn't matter how the Clippers improve, they'll still fall short again if Kawhi Leonard isn't available to play in the playoffs.