LAS VEGAS — On Tuesday, Kawhi Leonard sounded like a man expecting to play for the USA against Canada Wednesday night,
then board the plane to Abu Dhabi and eventually Paris with USA Basketball.
“I’ll be good tomorrow,” Leonard said the day before the USA showed promise in its first game, beating Canada. “Everything’s been good so far, [his troublesome right knee] has been in a neutral state and hopefully it stays that way.”
The next morning, USA Basketball released a statement that Leonard had withdrawn from the team.
Leonard’s knee issue was known. He missed the final eight games of the regular season with right knee inflammation (after playing in 68 games during the season and making All-NBA second team). He tried to come back in the playoffs but missed the final three games of the Clippers’ series loss to the Mavericks. In Las Vegas, he said that his recovery took a turn for the better in the last couple of weeks before USA training camp, so he came out to play.
When asked about what changed, USA Basketball’s managing director Grant Hill gave a rambling answer, but one thing was clear — this wasn’t Leonard’s idea, even if he eventually acquiesced to it.
“We just felt that we had to pivot. Not to get into the particulars, in terms of what went into the decision, but we just felt it was in our best interest, but also in the Clippers’ and Kawhi’s best interest, to move into a different direction,” Hill said before Wednesday’s exhibition. “We tried. I think we all tried and we gave it a valiant effort, and unfortunately, we have to move forward.”
Leonard seemed somewhat limited in the parts of scrimmages and this is not an 82-game season where some load management for a star can be appropriate. While it’s abrupt, Hill felt he had to make the call.
Leonard spoke to the team before leaving and told them to win gold.
“Kawhi gave it everything he had when he was preparing and those last few days of camp, Curry said, “And there was conversation mutually between USAB leadership and Kawhi and his team just to make sure you set up for success and I mean, obviously there are tough decisions and I know he wanted to play…
“People wanted to be sure he was set for the long term, because the game needs him and when he’s not out there you miss an all time great player.”
“Obviously it was a decision that was mutual, I believe, between Kawhi and USA Basketball,” LeBron James said. “We was definitely looking forward to it. At the end of the day, he’s still a brother of ours. He went through training camp with us, he’s still a brother of ours. More important, we just wish him the best and that’s all that matters.”
As soon as the announcement about Leonard came out, reports surfaced that Celtics guard Derrick White would replace him. While there are reasons to choose White, it raised a few eyebrows, starting with Celtics wing Jaylen Brown.
🧐🧐🧐
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) July 10, 2024
The Celtics’ training camp just got more interesting.
Either player is a defensible choice by Team USA. Both are outstanding defenders, although Brown is closer in size and strength to Leonard. Both can shoot the 3, although White is a little better (39.6% last season) and is more used to working off the ball (something helpful with Team USA, which is stacked with shot creators). We know Brown can step up in big moments, he was the Finals MVP.
Hill was asked why White on a team already deep with guards (Curry, Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker).
“You have to build a team,” Hill said. “And one of the hardest things is leaving people off the roster that I’m a fan of, that I look forward to watching throughout the season, throughout the playoffs. Guys who’ve been Finals MVP, guys who have been a part of the program, guys who’ve won gold medals. Guys who I respect, admire and enjoy watching. But the responsibility that I have is to put together a team and a team that complements each other.”
Brown insinuated in comments on his post that White was a Nike decision (Nike has historically had an outsized influence with Team USA).
@nike this what we doing ?
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) July 10, 2024
Hill tried to stomp out that fire, with limited success.
“For a good portion of my career, I wore FILA,” Hill said with a laugh, although the room didn’t laugh along. “That was supposed to be a joke. We’re proud of our partners at USA Basketball. This is about putting together a team…
“Whatever theories might be out there, they’re just that.”
