Kawhi Leonard was announced to be part of the USA men’s basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics last summer. However, he would wind up dropping out of the roster, with various news outlets speculating about what actually happened behind the scenes that caused his withdrawal.
For Stephen A. Smith, Leonard doesn’t just deserve criticism for his camp suggesting that the Clippers were behind his dropping out, but he also deserves to be called out for “blackmailing the Clippers.”
“He gets sent home, and then you have people in his camp, according to my sources … blame the Clippers,” Smith said. “They thought the Clippers were behind the scenes, having something to do with Kawhi Leonard getting sent home, which is probably why Lawrence Frank went out there and was so vociferous in supporting Kawhi Leonard.
“Because he wanted to make sure everybody knew he had nothing to do with it. And the Clippers had nothing to do with that. … And that’s just the end of it. … How about how it all started? This man blackmailed the Clippers. … ‘You don’t do what it takes to get Paul George. I’m going to the Lakers.’”
.@stephenasmith goes OFF on Kawhi Leonard 😯
“I can make a legitimate argument that Kawhi Leonard is the worst superstar in the history of any sport.” pic.twitter.com/0z9ajTalzG
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 24, 2024
When Leonard first joined the Clippers, the management let go of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five-first round picks in exchange for Paul George. Since last postseason, Leonard has been out of action due to lingerie injuries. Meanwhile, George opted out of his player option with the Clippers in June, becoming a free agent and then signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brian WIndhorst tells why Team USA dropped Kawhi Leonard
When Kawhi Leonard went to the Team USA training camp last summer, many were surprised to know that he was going to play in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Him joining the Olympic team raised some eyebrows especially when he played in just two of the Clippers’ playoff games last season.
Fans were even more surprised to find out that given his desire to play for Team USA, the Clippers forward actually had surgery on his knee during the summer, which will keep him out of action until further notice.
ESPN sportswriter Brian Windhorst recently shed light on the situation on “First Take,” saying that Leonard was fresh off of surgery in May when he arrived for Team USA’s training camp, leading to them sending him home.
“He’s recovering from surgery, but I understand why this is difficult to comprehend and compute because he had surgery in May and then tried to play for Team USA in June,” Windhorst said. “And Team USA took one look at him and said, ‘You can’t play, you’re not ready to play.’ And he hasn’t played since. Since they sent him home from their scrimmages he hasn’t played since.”
Windhorst further said that Leonard is “not anywhere close” to returning this season following his offseason surgery. His report checks out with Shams Charania’s report that said the forward would be sidelined indefinitely while rehabilitating his surgically repaired knee.
For more sports content:
Follow me on X at @ErnestLeo, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Ernest Hernandez via email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Ernest also manages a YouTube account called Sports On Air with over 103 thousand subscribers. The channel contains interviews predominantly from the Philippine Basketball Association. They can be reached at [email protected].
