“Los Angeles Clippers should force Kawhi Leonard to retire” – Stephen A. Smith questions 2x NBA champion’s future in NBA
Over the past week, nobody has been a bigger critic of Kawhi Leonard than Stephan A. Smith. After calling him one of the worst stars in NBA history, the national analyst went even further.
Kawhi Leonard's career has been littered with injuries, and the All-Star forward has been sidelined once again. After just two postseason matchups with the Phoenix Suns, he was dealing with swelling in his knee. This caused him to miss the remainder of the series.
On Wednesday morning, news broke that Leonard has a torn meniscus in his right knee. Given the severity of that type of injury, there is no telling when he'll be back on the court for the LA Clippers.
After hearing the news, Stephen A. Smith went on ESPN's "First Take" and made a bold statement. He feels that that the LA Clippers organization needs to force him to retire:
"Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers should force Kawhi to retire.
"He's never healthy when it counts."
"Steve Ballmer and the Los Angeles Clippers should force Kawhi Leonard to retire."
—@stephenasmith https://t.co/s9fAlG0BFi
Like most fans, Stephen A.'s frustrations mount on the constant inavailability of Leonard in the lineup. He doesn't deny his talent, and even stated that he would have picked the Clippers to win this series if him and Paul George were healthy.
The LA Clippers have nobody to blame for the Kawhi Leonard situation
While Stephen A. Smith might want to see the LA Clippers move on from Kawhi Leonard, they have nobody to blame but themselves for this situation. They pursued him heavily in free agency back in 2019, and then doubled down on him as their star.
The Clippers knew what they were getting into when they brought Leonard on. His load management and injury woes date back to his time with the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors. It didn't bother them, and they took the chance in hopes of being a contender.
To make matters worse, LA signed Leonard to a max contract when he was fresh off an ACL tear. He still has two years remaining on the deal and is owed close to $100 million.
It needs to be said that some of this is out of Leonard's control. No player wants to be constantly injured like this. Especially on a big stage like the postseason. Stephen A. Smith is looking out for the franchise, but that shouldn't be the case.
Since the Clippers took the gamble of signing Leonard to a max deal, they are now stuck with these consequences.