Ty Lue: 'I don't know' if Kawhi Leonard will be ready for the start of the season

Kawhi Leonard missed all of last season after suffering an ACL injury during the 2021 playoffs. The Los Angeles Clippers forward appeared to be making solid progress in his recovery toward the tail end of last year, but a new quote from his coach is at least a little bit worrisome.

In an interview with Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints, Tyronn Lue deferred when asked if Leonard would be ready to play for the start of the regular season.

“I don’t know,” Lue chuckled, when asked about Leonard’s status.

Lue might be deflecting or leaving himself some wiggle room here, but it is a little worrisome if Leonard will not be ready to play at all after roughly a year-and-a-half out. It is also possible that the Clippers would rather be very cautious with their franchise forward, knowing that the goal is to find playoff success more than anything else.

Leonard certainly looked to be in great shape the last we saw of him. One would think he has to be close by the opener, though the Clippers will likely watch his workload carefully.