Kawhi Leonard ready to follow, but will he perform in Clippers' preseason game titles?

When the Clippers open schooling camp Tuesday in Las Vegas, Kawhi Leonard says he will be all set to exercise.

Leonard is coming off of a 15-month restoration from surgical treatment on his correct knee to deal with a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament, and Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank mentioned final 7 days that the crew is approaching Leonard’s return to play with a combination of pleasure and caution, seeking to prioritize the All-Star wing’s availability for the postseason.

“The plan is tomorrow to get started training camp,” Leonard explained. “From there it is observing how my progression is, how I feel, what I’m not executing or shifting accurately and just retain going from there, step by step building up, but proper now I sense fantastic and the system is to get started camp tomorrow and perform.”

Element of sensation very good, Leonard claimed, includes no extended getting bothered when he jumps off his once-hurt leg.

The Clippers’ 1st of four preseason game titles is Thursday in Seattle. Leonard didn’t say how a great deal he would take part in preseason online games, if at all.

Pictures of Leonard’s bulked-up physique distribute throughout social media for the duration of the offseason, and Leonard claimed he feels more powerful after much more than a year of weight instruction while performing himself into participating in shape.

“I’m a lot more energized of him currently being wholesome, that is initial and foremost, I’ve noticed his total do the job all through, from the second he acquired wounded to the function he place in this offseason,” fellow All-Star forward Paul George reported of Leonard. “I bought to check out from the outside to see how substantially do the job he place into this 12 months, actual energized for him to do what he enjoys to do.

“Obviously just after that it is exhilaration of receiving to engage in with the most effective two-way player in the activity.”

Leonard said that if the Clippers experienced arrived at the NBA Finals last period, “they would have witnessed me enjoying,” but the Clippers missing in the engage in-in event. That team, Leonard stated, enthusiastic him with its comebacks and resilience, but he observed he wishes the staff to engage in smarter, noting various blunders he observed out of timeouts very last time.

“Without the participate in-in match we would have designed the playoffs,” Leonard said. “I consider that exhibits who they are as people today and I imagine I can arrive in and assist out with that, help us win a lot more game titles.”