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Kawhi Leonard didn't tell Clippers about surgery?

Originally posted on Game 7 | By Charles Kruger | Last updated 7/15/21

Earlier this week the Los Angeles Clippers announced that Kawhi Leonard had undergone surgery to repair a partially-torn ACL.

It was the first time the organization had spoken out on their star’s injury in such detail and it came rather abruptly.

This led many to question why precisely LA chose to be so secretive not only regarding Leonard’s initial ailment, but also the treatment process.

On Wednesday, a possible answer emerged: they were kept in the dark as well.

During yesterday’s episode of ‘Undisputed’ Skip Bayless reported that Leonard didn’t even bother telling the Clippers about the surgery until after the fact.

“He had the surgery, and the Clippers weren’t even aware he was going to have the surgery until Kawhi and company called them yesterday and said, ‘We need to go ahead and release that we had surgery,” Bayless noted.

Bayless’ reporting aligns with rumors that emerged from within the Clippers a few months ago that Leonard was upset with the medical staff. If that were in fact true, then suddenly him keeping the organization in the dark regarding his procedure makes a lot more sense. And it would also explain the hush-hush approach all parties involved have taken as of late.

Leonard has a player option for next season and then becomes an unrestricted free agent. One team has been very open in its desire to pursue him, and there’s another that Leonard himself has expressed some level of fondness for. A few months ago the prospect of him leaving LA seemed preposterous – but now it suddenly seems very realistic.

This article first appeared on Game 7 and was syndicated with permission.

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