NBA Exec: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George Injuries Have 'Ruined' Clippers' Culture

When the Los Angeles Clippers brought in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George ahead of the 2019-20 season, they hoped the duo would lift the franchise to an NBA title.

Instead, the Clippers have found themselves to be one of the most disappointing franchises in the league over the last four seasons, primarily because of injuries to both Leonard and George, which NBA executives told Heavy.com's Steve Bulpett have "ruined" the team's culture.

One team leader said:

"I'm not sure what they can do. They're not going to get value for those guys (Leonard, George) in any sort of deals. They just miss too many games, and that's ruined the culture. It's ruined the culture of the Clippers. Not knowing from night to night if you're going to have PG or Kawhi just killed them. They didn't know who was playing on any given night. It's a train wreck. They've got some really good character guys on their team, but the culture is bad."

During L.A.'s first season with Leonard and George on the roster, the Clippers finished second in the Western Conference with a 49-23 record before falling to the Denver Nuggets in the semifinals in seven games.

The Clippers followed that up in 2020-21 by finishing fourth in the West with a 47-25 record before falling to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals in six games. While George played the entire postseason, Leonard suffered a torn ACL in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Utah Jazz and missed the remainder of the playoffs.

Leonard also missed the entire 2021-22 season while recovering from the torn ACL, and George appeared in just 31 games, sitting out a significant amount of time with an elbow injury. The Clippers went on to finish eighth in the West with a 42-40 record, not making the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18 after being eliminated during the play-in tournament.

During the 2022-23 campaign, the Clippers finished fifth in the Western Conference with a 44-38 record, but they fell to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the postseason in five games, a series George missed entirely with a sprained right knee, while Leonard appeared in the first two games before being ruled out for the remainder of the series with a torn meniscus.

The injuries have cost the Clippers mightily, and they're no closer to accomplishing their goal of winning an NBA title than they were four years ago.

Leonard and George remain under contract with the Clippers for the 2023-24 season on deals worth $45.6 million each, and both have player options for 2024-25 worth $48.8 million.

If the duo could remain healthy, the Clippers would likely have just as good of a chance to win an NBA title as several of the league's top teams. But seeing as how Leonard has a torn meniscus, the team's title hopes for 2023-24 might not be very high.