Clippers stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard reportedly entering training camp ‘fully healthy’

The Clippers roster is heading to Hawaii next week as they are set to begin training camp a month before the start of the upcoming 2023/24 campaign. According to the team’s president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are ‘fully healthy’ ahead of the start of next season.

Last year, both stars suffered recurrent injuries right when the LA squad needed them the most. Leonard suffered a torn right meniscus after having played only two games into the first round of the playoffs, which they ended up losing against the Phoenix Suns. On June 6, he underwent a cleanup procedure.

“Both are fully healthy,” Frank said this Wednesday. “I think both have had extremely productive offseasons, and obviously our two best players are totally invested in doing special things for the Clippers. They show it with their actions, so I think we’re really excited that they’re both fully healthy and will be full participants in camp.”

For the FIRST TIME in 3 years. The LA Clippers have:

Fully Healthy Kawhi Leonard

Fully Healthy Paul George

Fully Healthy Marcus Morris

How many games is this Trio winning? pic.twitter.com/760OiTlyGm

— Sr. (@MookSrBurner) September 28, 2023

Another concerning subject is how both stars, who are Los Angeles grown and wish to stay there, each possess a $48 million player option for the 2024/25 season and will be eligible to sign four-year extensions potentially worth up to $233 million. The club’s president revealed that discussions over the matter have already begun.

“We’re still trying to maximize Kawhi and PG’s window and take advantage of it,” he said. “We’ve had consistent ongoing conversations with both of them [since they were extension-eligible] and their representatives, and at the appropriate time we’re hopeful that they remain Clippers.”

Frank hopes that both players will want to stay and represent the franchise for years to come.

“Hopefully we’ve created an environment where not only guys want to come, they want to stay. And we have a pretty good track record of being able to keep guys. So it will be a process and we’ll just be candid with each other. But we’re hopeful that we can continue to build around those guys and they remain Clippers,” he added.

The Clippers wish to continue the process with both players as well as coach Tyronn Lue for the following years

This 2023/24 campaign will be the fifth complete tournament of the Leonard-George era, and as they are both closing in on the end of their contracts, it will be a pivotal season for the club. The thing is, when they are healthy, the Clippers are successful. In total, they’ve appeared together in 142 regular-season contests, going 96-46.

“PG and Kawhi, we have very, very candid conversations in terms of the goal is to keep them as Clippers. So it’s not a warning shot. But I think all of us, me included, you feel a tremendous amount of responsibility and you take ownership for your piece of the pie, of how we each can do better,” Frank said.

As for coach Tyronn Lue, who just came back from contributing to Team USA’s coaching staff in the FIBA World Cup, is also valued highly in Los Angeles. The team’s president believes “we all have something to prove” and expect to see everything clear up this campaign.

“In terms of with T-Lue, he has two years [on his deal],” Frank shared. “We love T-Lue, we want T-Lue to be coach here for a long time. He’s one of the elite coaches in this league and there’s always a timing for things like that.”