Kawhi Leonard will not play in the upcoming Paris Olympics for Team USA, which has replaced the LA Clippers forward with Boston Celtics guard Derrick White.
In a statement released Wednesday, USA Basketball implied that Leonard's decision was influenced by Clippers and Team USA officials after observing training camp in Las Vegas over the past three days.
It would have been the first Olympic trip for Leonard, who missed 12 of the Clippers' final 14 games last season with inflammation in his right knee.
Clippers coach Ty Lue is part of Team USA's coaching staff. Representatives of the Clippers, including team president Lawrence Frank, attended practices at UNLV this week.
“Kawhi has been preparing for the Olympics over the past few weeks and has had some intense practices in Las Vegas. He felt prepared to compete,” USA Basketball said. “However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers have decided it is 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 recently signed a four-year, $126 million contract extension, played for Team USA at the 2019 World Cup. He averaged 15.2 points and 5.2 assists for the NBA champion Celtics last season.
“I'm pleased to announce that Derrick will compete in his first Olympic Games after a championship season in Boston,” said USA Basketball CEO Grant Hill. “We look forward to having him join the team in the coming days as we continue preparations for Paris.
“I want to thank Kawhi for his commitment to the U.S. Men's National Team. He earned the opportunity to represent the United States, but USA Basketball and the Clippers leadership felt it was important to allow Kawhi to prepare for the NBA season.”
Leonard said he had been rehabbing his knee for the past two months and wasn't sure if he would be able to play until two weeks ago, when it showed improvement.
“I took my time and I was able to get better over the last two weeks,” Leonard said Sunday. “Now I'm here and yeah, I'm having a good time.”
Leonard said Tuesday he planned to play in Team USA's exhibition opener Wednesday night against Team Canada, but referred to his knee as being in a “neutral” state.
White will not be with the team Wednesday night but is expected to join Team USA this weekend in Abu Dhabi, the first of two international stops for more games and practices before arriving in France for the Olympics.
NBA teams do not have the ability to keep players under contract from playing for their national teams, though it usually ends up being a mutual decision. Team Canada general manager Rowan Barrett said two weeks ago that the Golden State Warriors would hold forward Andrew Wiggins out of the Olympics, though the team said it was a mutual decision.
Team USA is also dealing with an injury to forward Kevin Durant, who has been unable to participate in contact practice due to a calf strain and will not play Wednesday night.
Leonard, who is about to begin a three-year, $150 million contract with the Clippers, has been unable to finish the past two postseasons because of right knee injuries. The two-time NBA champion and six-time All-NBA player has missed 256 regular-season games over the past seven years, including the entire 2021-22 season because of knee issues. He appeared in 68 games last season with the Clippers, his most since playing in 74 for San Antonio during the 2016-17 season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
