INGLEWOOD — Training for the regular season begins in earnest Tuesday when the Clippers convene in Hawaii for their annual camp. That’s when the team will discover exactly who they have and who they might miss as opening night approaches.
The Clippers know they no longer have Paul George or Russell Westbrook, both of whom waved goodbye during the summer.
And they know they have James Harden, Terance Mann, Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell to start the season. They also know there are a host of new players who need to quickly learn the playbook and Coach Tyronn Lue’s system.
What the Clippers don’t know is whether Kawhi Leonard will be ready for the Oct. 23 season opener or how much he will be available during the season. Leonard, though, said he plans on being in the lineup when the Clippers open the Intuit Dome.
Body willing, of course.
“I never plan to miss games, but it’s just about my body,” Leonard said Monday during the team’s preseason media event at their new arena. “I’m a human being and we’re playing basketball, so it all depends on what we want and what we figure out and how my body’s feeling.
“But right now I think it is a positive thing to think that I will play, but we take it day by day.”
And in some cases, game by game. Load management could play a role in the number of games Leonard will play this season after appearing in 68 last season – the most he has played in a Clippers jersey.
“I went from zero games (in 2021-22) to 52 to 68, so let’s see if I can keep it going from there,” Leonard said.
Leonard recently had another procedure on his balky right knee and is dealing with residual swelling. Inflammation in the knee cut short his postseason last year, playing in just two of the six games in their first-round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The swelling also caused him to miss playing for Team USA in the Olympics.
“Leading up to the Olympics and after the Olympics, everything was great,” he said.
And then?
“Things came out of nowhere, were out of my control, and that’s all I could do. I’m glad they were able to get the gold medal,” he said.
Harden, who re-signed with the Clippers this summer after joining the team in a trade early last season, said he will carry the team in the wake of Leonard’s slow start to the season and the departures of George and Westbrook.
“I think Kawhi just needs to take his time,” Harden said. “We need Kawhi later in the year and healthy. So, I think whenever (Kawhi) is ready, I’m not sure how much conditioning he’s been doing, but whenever he’s ready, whenever he’s available, then he can take his time and join in.
“But I think for us it’s just making sure that we got our structure and everybody’s ready to go. And then whenever Kawhi’s ready he will join the team.”
While Leonard works to get up to speed, Harden, 35, will need to step up on both sides of the ball if the Clippers hope to get off to a fast start. He will need to orchestrate the offense, create shots and get back on defense, challenges Harden said he can handle.
“We’re going to figure it out. And I’m going to tell you one thing. It’s definitely going to involve a lot of me,” Harden said. “Not just because I can create a shot, and I can get guys involved and there’s always going to be talk. You know what I mean?”
Harden said training camp and the five preseason games will give the Clippers a chance to sort out the other roles on the team, such as the other guard spot (Norman Powell, Kris Dunn or Bones Hyland?) and who replaces nine-time All-Star wing George (Kevin Porter Jr. or Derrick Jones Jr.?).
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The quicker the Clippers can sort out their roster, the quicker they can quiet the media critics who are skeptical of them finishing above .500.
“We don’t got time for patience. We got to get to it now, you know what I mean?” Harden said. “We got to get up to a really good start and these last few weeks I’ve been in the gym with the guys, and we’ve been conditioning and running crazy and preparing ourselves.
“We are behind, and training camp is going to be helpful for us. Preseason is going to be helpful for us. … We’ve got to get off to a good start and make our name and our presence felt from the beginning and kind of carry that wave into the entire season.”
Harden added, “We got a lot to prove for me as a leader. There’ve been a lot of situations where teams where we quote unquote weren’t good enough and we made people believe in us. You know what I mean? So, I feel like this is another opportunity for that. We got a lot of guys in this locker room that have that mindset. So, I’m excited for what we have.”