Clippers' Paul George Deemed '100 Percent Healthy' After Elbow Injury

Los Angeles Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told reporters on Thursday that Paul George's right elbow is fully healed after he suffered a torn UCL last season.

"His elbow is 100 percent healthy," he said. "Paul has had an extremely purposeful, driven, and very productive off-season, in that his consistency of training has been off the charts. Plus, he continues to take more and more of an ownership and leadership role. You know, he had a lot to do with getting John Wall to come here."

That injury cost George around three months of the season, and the 32-year-old played in just 31 games total, averaging 24.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game while shooting 42.1 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from three.

The Clippers failed to advance to the postseason, falling in the play-in tournament. It was a season defined by injuries, as Kawhi Leonard lost the entire campaign due to a torn ACL.

But Leonard, like George, is expected to be healthy for the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

"He feels great," Frank told reporters. "His plan is, look, he wants to participate in everything. And I think organizationally, we're going to be cautious. So it will be a step-by-step approach."

"He is cleared," he added. "For him, he'll say, 'Look, I want to do everything.' Again, we'll be very cautious in the approach."

They'll be joined by one of the deeper supporting casts in the NBA, with John Wall, Reggie Jackson, Ivica Zubac, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Luke Kennard, Marcus Morris Sr. and Terance Mann, among others, filling out the roster.

When George and Leonard first paired up ahead of the 2019-20 season, the belief was that the Clippers were one of the title favorites. Disappointing postseason collapses and injury issues, instead, have defined their partnership to this point.

Getting them healthy, with this supporting cast behind them, however, makes them one of the NBA's most intriguing and potentially dangerous teams.