Today, we’re taking a look at the season preview for Kawhi Leonard, the superstar forward who sits at the center of the Clippers’ title hopes.

Basic Information

Height: 6’7″
Weight: 225 lbs
Position: Small Forward
Age: 29
Years in NBA: 9
Key Stats: In 57 appearances for the Clippers last season, played 32.4 minutes per game and averaged 27.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.8 steals while shooting 47% from the field and 37.8% from three. In the regular season, the Clippers had a net rating of +12.2 in Kawhi’s 1848 minutes and -0.3 in 1628 minutes without him.

In the playoffs, Leonard played 39.3 minutes per game and averaged 28.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.3 steals, and 2.5 turnovers while shooting 48.9% from the field and 32.9% from three.

Contract Status: Kawhi signed a “2+1” contract with the Clippers last summer that will give him an opt out in free agency next year. He’ll make $34,279,100 next season before almost certainly declining his $36,016,200 option for 2021-22. As this upcoming year will be his 10th in the league, he’ll be eligible for the higher 35% maximum salary next year, with the Clippers able to give him up to 4 years with 8% raises. If he signs a 1+1 deal and opts out again in 2022, the Clippers could then give him a full 5-year max.

Expectations

Short of LeBron James’ unique ability to elevate the players around him, there isn’t much that you can ask a basketball player to do that Kawhi Leonard doesn’t do. He scores with remarkable volume and efficiency, he’s one of the league’s most feared individual defensive stoppers and an elite team defender. He rebounds at a high level for a perimeter-oriented player and has developed into a strong secondary playmaker, posting a significant career high in assists. His drive and demeanor are renowned, and he’s surpassed even the wildest expectations for the career of a 15th overall pick by winning the NBA Finals MVP award twice.

The Clippers know what they’ll get from Kawhi in the box score, and he will assuredly be one of the best few players in the league next season. He’ll miss some games due to load management (though the team only has 6 back-to-backs in their first 38 games, so if he stays healthy he could play more than last year), but that’s part of the deal–and if the tradeoff is that he’ll be available for increased minutes in the playoffs and extend his career (hopefully with the Clippers) for additional seasons, it’s a no-brainer.

But the real expectation for Kawhi this season is going to be a lot harder to track than an increase in assists or a better three-point percentage. When the Clippers talk about their playoff collapse against the Denver Nuggets, talent is rarely mentioned. Offensive lulls had less to do with the need for an upgrade at point guard and more to do with a lack of cohesion that resulted from inconsistent availability throughout the year (well beyond Kawhi’s load management, beginning with both Leonard and Paul George missing training camp and a number of other intermittent absences from key players). Mental collapses weren’t just offensive blitzes from opponents but a lack of resiliency built in to the fragile relationships in the Clippers’ locker room.

Yes, they probably would have beaten the Nuggets if not for the awful one-two punch of Doc Rivers and Montrezl Harrell having some of the worst playoff performances ever from a coach and player, and yes, landing an All-Star point guard or other roster upgrades could have boosted the team further, but no roster is perfect. Teams often over- or underachieve based on whether or not they are able to come together to be more or less than the sum of their parts. Last season, the Clippers were never as good in reality as they were on paper, while teams like the eventual-champion Lakers meshed together to produce performances from role players that exceeded expectations. Simply put, the Clippers need to find a way to “click” this year in a way they never did last season. Kawhi Leonard has a legacy with or without another title, but if he wants that next notch in his historical belt he’ll need to make another step of individual growth and bring more as a leader this season.

Strengths

Basketball, and most basketball-related activities.

Weaknesses

Calling Kawhi’s personality a weakness feels harsh–if we’re going to judge athletes personally at all, that should be reserved for people who have actually demonstrated real toxic behavior that go beyond sports drama. I don’t know Kawhi personally but the people around him seem to think he’s a fun guy. In context, it’s more that he doesn’t quite have what the Clippers would ideally get from him as a natural and vocal leader. The Clippers–and every sports team ever–have some dominating personalities in their locker room. If anyone has the credibility to legitimize himself as the leader, it would be Kawhi, but he’s called himself a “lead by example” type. If there is a vocal leadership vacuum in any locker room, it will end up filled. Short of Kawhi taking on that role, the Clippers need to be a lot more mindful of how that happens this season.

On the court, Kawhi is spectacular but not flawless. Expecting improvements or critiquing weaknesses feels unfair because of just how good he is, but for the sake of the exercise I’ll name a few. At 4.9 assists per game, he just posted by far his career high on a Clippers team that used him more as a distributor than he’d ever been used before, and he showed legitimate passing ability that just wasn’t there even the year before in Toronto. Additional comfort as a playmaker would certainly help this team, and even if he doesn’t increase his creative volume it would help if he could reduce his turnovers and perhaps get less flustered against double teams as a pick-and-roll ball-handler. As a shooter, he’s above-average on high volume, but above-average isn’t quite lethal. Lastly, the Clippers could use a bit more from him in terms of nightly defensive production. I get it, he’s a superstar who has to shoulder a big load offensively and protect his body. The legend slightly exceeded the reality on that end in his first year as a Clipper, though my guess, based on spurts of domination, is that it had a lot more to do with strategically expending energy than decreased ability.

Summary

Kawhi is one of the greatest players to ever step on a basketball court. Without dominating a generation like LeBron or sparking a stylistic revolution like Steph Curry, he’s found a way to be a legitimate peer to those and other greats. Kawhi will get the job done in his role, even with a massive role on both ends of the floor. His ability to extend beyond the confines of elite individual contributions and lift the team around him will likely be the most important factor in the 2021 LA Clippers’ success or failure.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Lucas Hann

Lucas Hann

Lucas has covered the Clippers since 2011, and has been credentialed by the team since 2014. He co-founded 213Hoops with Robert Flom in January 2020.  He is a graduate of Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, CA and St. John's University in Queens, NY.  He earned his MA in Communication and Rhetorical Studies from Syracuse University.

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