Kawhi Leonard And Paul George Are Ready To Lead ‘Focused’ LA Clippers In Year 4

LOS ANGELES — The LA Clippers kicked off the 2022-23 campaign Monday by hosting local and national reporters for media day. It was the first time Kawhi Leonard held a press conference — or took questions in any public setting — in a calendar year.

Leonard, preparing to return this season from ACL surgery and a lengthy rehab process, was in a joyous and playful mood as he joked with teammates, signed hundreds of basketballs to be given away, and provided the audience with one of his famous media day laughs.

There were multiple themes and storylines from the Clippers’ first media availability of the season, but chief among them was the determination of both Leonard and Paul George, LA’s two superstar wings who fully understand their championship aspirations must translate from words to actions.

Leonard has only played in 48.2% of the 226 possible regular season games since becoming a Clipper, missing all of last season after ACL reconstruction. Nearly 15 months after his injury, the training staff’s plan for him is still unclear. However, all signs point to him being ready for opening night on Oct. 20, followed by the team staying cautious with his workload throughout the season.

As for preseason action, which begins this Friday, Sept. 30, the Clippers will take it day-by-day with Leonard before determining his status. Leonard did indicate he’s healthy and ready to go through any drills head coach Ty Lue has for the team.

“For me individually, I’ll be participating in training camp,” he said. “Then from there, just seeing how my progression is, how I feel, what I’m not feeling, am I moving correctly, and just keep going from there. Just gradually building up.”

He was visibly active during Tuesday afternoon’s practice, exploding off his leg as George contested in the paint:

This will also be the first ‘normal’ training camp LA has experienced since the inaugural Kawhi-PG pairing — remember, the 2020 offseason took place directly after the bubble in November and December and Leonard obviously didn’t participate in the 2021 camp.

That, among other reasons, is why Monday felt like the start of a new journey. The vibes around LA’s practice facility were unparalleled as the guys embraced their first day back in uniform.

From a personnel perspective, it’s not the same Clippers you remember from Leonard’s last time on the floor.

The unit he’s returning to looks much different than LA’s 2021 team that pushed the Phoenix Suns to six games in the West Finals. It’s deeper. It’s more battle-tested. And it’s loaded with confidence, from top to bottom.

Norman Powell, Robert Covington, and John Wall headline the latest additions that will play substantial roles on a nightly basis. Powell and Wall supply the Clippers with components they lacked, while Covington increases the number of athletic wings LA can deploy in a five-out offense without opening up defensive holes.

With Leonard going radio silent over the last 12 months, Monday was the first time he addressed the roster construction and recent front office activity. To say he’s a fan of the trades Lawrence Frank has orchestrated would be an understatement. Not only did the Clippers bring in one of his former teammates in Powell, but they stuck with the plan everyone envisioned from day one — building a positionless roster that can adapt on the fly.

“I think he’s done a great job,” Leonard said of Frank. “We’ve got a lot of talented wings on our team that can play both ways, dribble, shoot the ball, guard multiple positions. And I think that’s what you need right now in this NBA, guys that can guard, switch, and be able to knock down open shots. We’ll see how it unfolds this year, but I’m excited.”

When asked to specifically touch on the new rotational players, Leonard acknowledged the strengths of both Powell and Covington. Considering Wall missed all of last season, Leonard only referenced how he looked in games during the 2020-21 season and this summer’s offseason workouts.

“I think Norm (Powell) is good — he can play both ends of the floor,” Leonard said. “He’s good at on-ball defense, and definitely can shoot. He’s improved his scoring, his passing since I played with him with the Raptors. (Robert) Covington just brings us another guy that can guard multiple positions and stretch that floor out for us. John (Wall), all I can really go back to is the two years when I saw him against us in Houston. He was playing well. That’s the last time I probably saw him in-person in live game action, other than the practices here. But he’s been looking great. Let’s put it all on the floor and see what we can do.”

For these Clippers, the clear separator between them and other West foes will be their lineup flexibility and Lue’s situational decision-making. Without hyperbole, they could trot out 10 different starting lineups, depending on the matchup, and present a real challenge with their elite combination of defensive length and offensive spacing.

When LA went small against the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz in the 2021 playoffs, Lue gave the rest of the NBA a preview of what’s to come. With everyone sliding up a position — including Leonard at the four, which I expect him to play a lot of this year — it unlocked a monster that forced you to pick your poison. Leonard and George could mismatch hunt against point guards or centers, get downhill, attract help, and put an entire defense in peril.

Due to injuries, they haven’t been able to return to those deadly lineups that nearly captured the Western Conference trophy.

Since those series, the Clippers have improved their inventory. They can now nominate three or four players to step in for small-ball center minutes.

As much of a luxury it will be offensively, it’s actually the defensive end that catches Paul George’s eye. As he discussed his team’s best trait on Monday, his mind automatically went to the terrorizing style they could play.

“I mean, we can switch everything,” George said. “I think that’s the beauty and the scary part about our team now. We can switch everything and still not give up a basket. A lot of times when teams are switching, there’s still a weak link that the team will try to isolate and go at. You can’t do that with us if we switch.”

In theory, the lineups George is likely referring to include any combination of wings (and Wall) in instances Ivica Zubac is not on the floor. For the most part, that will be Covington, Nic Batum, or Marcus Morris filling in as the center and switching onto guards in 1-5 pick-and-roll action, if necessary.

Or, if the team feels comfortable allowing Zubac to switch more this year, it could be Zubac’s selling point to close out more games and play heavier minutes.

If Wall proves to be extremely valuable on the offensive end for a group that often lacked burst, he’ll find himself closing games. If that’s the case, Wall would technically be the only “weak link” opponents might target, only due to size. At 6’3”, Wall will be the smallest player on the court for practically every minute he plays this year.

Nevertheless, Wall’s defensive reputation in Washington was stellar. He was considered one of the league’s premier two-way guards that could force turnovers, disrupt passing lanes, and strip the ball from anyone with a loose handle. The last time we saw that version of Wall was during the 2017 playoffs, so it’s not something fans should expect every game.

But only being 32 and having a lot of time off, Wall’s physical shape seems to be assuring enough for George and company.

“Our speed, our length, our athleticism,” George answered when asked about the team’s defensive tools. “And I think just our individual defensive IQ — with our quick hands, quick feet, across the board, and we’ve got guards that rebound like John (Wall). I think it’s going to be a real problem. Then when we get a stop, we go on the other end, there’s pressure for teams to guard (us). If we’ve got personnel on the court that’s all wings, it’s tough for teams to have to guard that and match up against it.”

George is tailor-made for this style, and it was evident all the way back in Indiana under Frank Vogel. While the Pacers didn’t have the versatile weapons to utilize those special lineups, you could see flashes of George being able to guard anyone on the floor regardless of size.

During Tuesday’s practice, Lue even alluded to the possibility of George playing point guard minutes. It would be the ultimate cheat code against opponents that rely on smaller guards to ignite their offense. For instance: Where do you hide Trae Young, Kyrie Irving, or an older Chris Paul if George is at point guard and Covington or Batum are the smallest players on the floor?

“It’s going to cause some coaches — it really might transcend the league to where the game might go to five out wings on the floor,” George said. “We could be that kind of team that (opponents) try to emulate because of the success we hopefully have.”

While Leonard’s media session was mostly covering his health and availability, George was faced with some of the hard-hitting questions. We learned about his latest efforts to become a stronger leader for the organization and his teammates.

For George, who has been active all four years with the Clippers but still affected by various injuries, he took it upon himself to organize summer workouts and preach the importance of relationships on and off the court.

In order to fulfill his goal of delivering a title to the Clippers’ organization, George was determined to start 2022-23 on the right foot.

“I think both of us internally had a promise — I know I did for myself — to bring a championship here,” George said when discussing he and Leonard’s tenure. “Then when you look at how close we were two years back, the year Kawhi got hurt, how close we were … I didn’t want to leave anything on the table that I could have done more. I thought it was very important this summer to keep guys connected, stay together, get workouts in together. It was more just off-the-court stuff. I didn’t really care about the on-court stuff. We’ll get to that when camp starts.”

In 2019-20, George witnessed first-hand how difficult it can be to develop chemistry during the grind of a season. Across the board, the effort has to start in the offseason.

“It was more just getting guys together, being able to laugh,” he added. “(Powell) and (Covington) were new additions, so kind of wanted to speed them up on the team and make them comfortable from jump. We’ve been here. This core has kind of been here for years now, and when you look at the teams that win and are very successful, it’s teams that have been together and gel and connect. That’s kind of where my mindset was this summer; just stay together, build the chemistry, the camaraderie. I thought we got a lot out of it.”

That’s the most admirable part of George’s Clippers career thus far. Since the moment Leonard went down with injury in June 2021, George has absorbed the leadership role that was sorely needed within the locker room. He’s embraced it, ensuring every player that enters LA’s culture feels welcomed from the moment they walk through the door.

This was not George’s style in Indiana, or how he operated in Oklahoma City when he finished third in MVP voting. This is now a player with veteran technique, and one cognizant of how his actions will set the standard for the entire roster.

“Definitely going into camp, I think we know one another,” George said. “We know what to expect. We know how to pull the best out of one another. Just iron out any wrinkles we have going forward.”

When he signed his extension with LA in December 2020, George expressed that he owned his team a trophy for committing to him long-term.

This will be the first training camp (and regular season) that LA has entered with the entire rotation active and healthy. That alone should resemble a win for Lue and the coaching staff.

Barring any injuries or setbacks in camp, mid-October will be the return of the Kawhi-PG duo that has only played 104 games together. George detailed how much he’s looking forward to getting another top-tier scorer and creator back in the lineup.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m really excited. I’m more excited (about) him being healthy,” George said about Leonard’s return. “That’s first and foremost. I’ve seen his whole (rehab) from the second he got injured to the work he put in this offseason, going into this season. I’ve been in that position of being out and having to rehab a whole season. You know, I got to watch from the outside to see how much work he put into this year. Really excited for him to get a chance to do what he loves and get back on the court. Obviously after that, it’s the excitement of getting to play with the best two-way player in the game.”

The Clippers also won’t be shying away from the pressure that inevitably comes with being a sure-fire title contender. They might get some flashbacks to the 2019-20 season when majority of the media picked them to win the West, but they are in a much better place — physically and mentally — to handle those expectations.

George, understanding there is always a finite number of chances to reach the mountain top, is inviting the title-or-bust mentality that could surround these Clippers.

“I mean, when you look at our roster, you look at the health of everyone on this team, it’s good to have that pressure,” George said. “The fact of the matter is, not a lot of teams get that pressure going into a season. So for us, we honor that. We embrace that. Very excited for what’s to come this year. Since I’ve been here, I think we have yet to put a full healthy season with everybody in uniform. There’s a lot of optimism of what we can accomplish when we’re all full strength.”

Through all of the ups and downs George has been through dating back to the bubble, the biggest advancements we’ve seen rest in his leadership, maturity, and how he responds to adversity.

George’s self-awareness and honesty have made him more universally liked by NBA fans regardless of allegiance.

One of his final statements from media day stood out as the most powerful, as he used a single word to depict his mindset heading into his 13th season.

“Focused,” he said. “Understanding the opportunity and the (championship) window. And I think that’s how I approached every day of training was just a focused, locked-in mentality to bring the best out of myself, to get the best out of myself.”

You don’t hear many stars, particularly top-15 players in the league, admit they are running out of time to capitalize on their prime.

“My window is shrinking to be a champion,” George said.

The Clippers’ priorities are set for this coming season; keep Leonard fresh, commit to being the league’s most-feared defensive team, and continue to develop the strong habits George has instilled all summer.