Bill Simmons reported that Kawhi Leonard will make his season debut with the Clippers before Christmas, but head coach Ty Lue is not sure.
After the report from Simmons, Lue was asked about it and he was also asked if Leonard would be back before Christmas.
“I don’t know,” said Lue. “I don’t know.”
Lue then paused for a moment and asked the reporters, “Who said that?”
He was also asked if Kawhi would return at that time and he replied, “I don’t know,” said Lue.
What the coach could say is that the star player of the franchise was on the field shooting and “making some plays.”
“Just doing all the things he has to do. …He has to check all the boxes and do all the right things, not skip any steps,” Lue said. “So, once he’s done with that, we’ll move on.”
Although Lue did not say how many “boxes” Leonard must check before he returns to the court for the first time in 2024-25.
“Get 100%. I am not a doctor [doctor]. I don’t know,” said Lue. “I’m not there lifting and doing all that. You’re out. You are getting better. He’s down, he’s doing things, but he’s not ready to play yet.”
The head coach also defended Kawhi’s injury issues and painted a very different picture than the one Salt fans love.
“For him, it’s very frustrating; he wants to sit down; he wants to play every night, and it’s a bad time,” said Lue. “It’s not like he said, ‘We get to the playoffs, and I don’t want to play. It has been hard days; had a rough night. I talked to Kawhi last night when he almost cried talking about how he brought the team down. But you won’t do anything about the injury; he’s another guy who works hard every day to be on the floor, to be on the court, and it’s just unfortunate.”
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