Paul George: Clippers Don't Want to Put 'Added Pressure' on Kawhi Leonard to Return

The Los Angeles Clippers dropped to 7-6 on the season with a 110-95 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena, but the team isn't rushing Kawhi Leonard to return from injury despite its struggles.

"I’m excited to get him back whenever he's ready," Paul George told reporters after Saturday's game. "Nobody here wants to put added pressure on his return. His return is his return."

He added: "Like I’ve been saying, we got a job to do, and that's to continue to play ball, win games, compete. When he's ready, he's ready, but that's his timetable, not ours."

Leonard has been sidelined since he began dealing with soreness in his right knee just two games into the season. He has not played since an Oct. 23 loss to the Phoenix Suns, missing L.A.'s last 10 games.

The 31-year-old tore the ACL in his right knee during the 2021 playoffs and missed the entire 2021-22 campaign while recovering from surgery.

The Clippers were trying to ease Leonard back into things this year, and he averaged 21 minutes off the bench in the two games he played. He averaged 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor.

There's still no timetable for Leonard to return to the court, though he did participate in a five-on-five workout Friday. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters the veteran "looked pretty good."

"It's gonna take a few more [workout] opportunities to get that in," Lue said when asked about when Leonard could return to the floor. "Then kind of reassess him to see how he's feeling after we go to medical and just kind of see if we check all the boxes."

The Clippers will be hoping Leonard can play as well as he did during his first season with the team in 2019-20. The five-time All-Star averaged 27.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 57 games while shooting 47.0 percent from the floor and 37.8 percent from deep.

L.A. will be back in action on Monday against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Leonard is not expected to play.