LA Clippers writer defends Kawhi Leonard, Paul George load management citing LeBron James, Steph Curry's limited appearances in 2022-23 season
The LA Clippers are in quite a pickle for next season as they won't be able to rest both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard at the same time. The NBA has started to explore a new policy wherein a team is unable to rest two All-Star players in the same game.
Both George and Leonard have had difficulties in staying healthy over the past few seasons. The two-time Finals MVP suffered a torn ACL back in 2021 and has not returned to his 100% since then. The other star forward, on the other hand, has had numerous minor injuries that caused him to miss out on games last season.
Tomer Azarly of Clutchpoints pointed out that George and Leonard aren't the only stars that are affected by the new rule. On X, he stated that other stars from other teams are also the main cause for this and he went on to call it a league problem.
"Kawhi Leonard played 52 games last season, Paul George played 56."
He went on to mention stars like Chris Paul, Steph Curry and even LeBron James. All of them played under 60 games due to a combination of injuries and load management. Azarly concluded with this take.
"This isn’t a Clipper problem, it’s an NBA problem."
This could be a difficult transition for the Clippers as both of their All-Stars have struggled to stay healthy. During the first round of the 2023 postseason, Leonard and George missed out greatly on playing for the team.
Azarly also makes a valid point in calling it an NBA problem. Stars have constantly sat out games throughout the course of the 82-game season. However, last season, stars for the LA Clippers stood out the most as the ones who missed out on a ton of games.
LA Clippers working on a season pass
LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has shared his future plans for the franchise before. Part of his plans include a new home for the team as they've started the construction of the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Ballmer shared one of his other plans for the franchise, which addresses the fans.
"We’re working on a Clippers season pass," Ballmer said. "You buy a season ticket, you sell it if you’re not going. I don’t like that. That’s how we get the other teams' fans. A season pass, like Netflix, you can share it with 3-4 people. You can’t sell that."
Ballmer used to be the CEO of Microsoft, and he has probably explored the ins and outs of having a season pass for the LA Clippers. Still, there might be fans who wouldn't like the idea of having a season pass that can be shared with potentially four other people.