Kawhi Leonard will not compete in the 2016 Paris Olympics for Team USA, which has replaced the Los Angeles Clippers forward with Boston Celtics guard Derrick White.
USA Basketball hinted in a statement posted Wednesday that Leonard’s choice was influenced by Clippers and Team USA officials who had spent the previous three days monitoring training camp in Las Vegas.
Leonard would have been making his first Olympic trip, having missed 12 of the Clippers’ last 14 games this season due to right knee soreness.
Clippers coach Ty Lue is a member of the Team USA coaching staff. Clippers representatives, including team president Lawrence Frank, have visited UNLV workouts this week.
“Kawhi has been preparing for the Olympics for many weeks, with a few good workouts in Las Vegas. “He felt prepared to compete,” USA Basketball stated. “However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers determined it’s in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season rather than participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.”
White, who just signed a four-year agreement for $126 million, competed for Team USA at the 2019 World Cup. He averaged 15.2 points and 5.2 assists for the NBA-champion Celtics this season.
“I am pleased to announce that Derrick will compete in his first Olympic Games, following a championship season in Boston,” USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill stated. “We look forward to him joining the team in the coming days as we continue to prepare for Paris.”
“I’d like to thank Kawhi for his dedication to the US Men’s National Team. He earned the opportunity to represent the United States, but USA Basketball and Clippers management believed it was critical to enable Kawhi to prepare for the NBA season.”
Leonard claimed he had been rehabbing his knee for two months and wasn’t sure he’d be ready to play until two weeks ago, when he improved.
“I took the time, and I was able to turn around over the last two weeks,” Leonard remarked on Sunday. “So I’m out here now, and, yeah, I’m having a good time.”
Leonard stated Tuesday that he planned to play Team USA’s first preseason game against Team Canada on Wednesday night, but that his knee was in a “neutral” position.
White will not be with the squad Wednesday night, but he is scheduled to join the USA squad this weekend in Abu Dhabi, the first of two overseas visits for further games and practices before heading to France for the Olympics.
NBA franchises cannot restrict players under contract from playing for their national teams, although it is usually a mutual agreement. Team Canada general manager Rowan Barrett said two weeks ago that the Golden State Warriors were keeping forward Andrew Wiggins out of the Olympics, claiming it was a mutual choice.
Team USA is also struggling with an injury to forward Kevin Durant, who has been unable to participate in contact practice due to a calf issue and will not play on Wednesday.
Leonard, who is set to begin a three-year, $150 million contract with the Clippers, has been unable to complete the last two postseasons due to right knee issues. The two-time NBA champion and six-time All-NBA player has missed 256 regular-season games in the last seven years, including the whole 2021–22 season, due to knee issues. He participated in 68 games for the Clippers this season, his most since 74 for San Antonio in 2016–17.
