Kawhi Leonard hopes to return this season?

As the L.A. Clippers continue to claw their way up the Western Conference standings, they may have reason to feel encouraged about their actual Klaw.

During the Clippers’ game against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, ESPN’s Mark Jones, who is a play-by-play announcer for the Kings, spoke on a conversation that he had with injured Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.

“I spoke with Leonard last week and he has thoughts of perhaps coming back to this team this year before the season is over,” said Jones, per Clippers writer Lucas Hann.

The former Finals MVP Leonard remains sidelined with the partial ACL tear that he suffered in the playoffs last June. The Clippers have hung around in his absence thus far this season, going 17-15. That is good enough for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference at the moment.

We already heard before the season that Leonard could return at some point in the 2021-22 campaign, even down to a possible month he might be back. Those plans could have changed if the Clippers were plunging and/or if Leonard was feeling discouraged about his rehab. With the team currently in position to clinch a playoff spot outright and avoid the play-in tournament, neither of those appears to be the case though. Now the Clippers may just have to hold the line for a few months longer in order to give Leonard a chance at returning this season.