Was Kawhi Forced Out? Clippers Executives Voice Disappointment Over USA Basketball’s Decision to Have Leonard Leave Team

On July 16, after Kawhi Leonard left the national team, there was speculation that he had suffered another injury. However, from the latest remarks by Lawrence Frank, the President of the Los Angeles Clippers, it seems that this might not be the case.

On Monday, Frank told reporters, “The decision for Kawhi to leave was made by Team USA, frankly, I’m very disappointed in this decision. He wanted to play, and we also wanted him to play.”

Kawhi Leonard missed 12 out of the last 14 games of the previous season due to inflammation in his right knee. Despite this, he still trained with Team USA for three days in Las Vegas. However, afterward, both parties announced that Leonard would depart the team, with Boston Celtics guard Derrick White joining the USA men’s basketball team.

After Leonard’s departure, Team USA publicly stated that “this was a joint decision made by Team USA and the Clippers, believing that it is more important for him to prepare for the upcoming season during the remainder of the summer than to participate in the Paris Olympics.”

Frank further added that he believed Leonard needed more opportunities to prove that he was ready for the Paris Olympics, which would have been his first Olympics in his career.

“I expressed to them that I really hoped they could give Kawhi more time… In my view, he looked great. I know the sacrifices he made to participate in the Olympics, so this decision was very disappointing,” said Frank. Frank acknowledged that he understood that Team USA had to make the best decisions for the team, and he would still cheer for Team USA to win the gold medal, but he remained disappointed about Leonard’s departure.