Watching the Mavericks lead the Thunder with a score of 3-2 in the Western Conference semifinals, the Clippers reporters have repeatedly lamented that if Leonard is healthy, the Clippers will easily stand on the stage of the Western Conference finals. This made Leonard, who did not play in the last game of the Clippers for 4 consecutive seasons, very embarrassed. And on George's podcast, one of the Clippers' cores said something that also made Leonard embarrassed. George's exact words are this: "I am willing to sacrifice my legs, my knees for the championship." ”
If the opinions of reporters and media people have not been able to affect Leonard, then as a teammate, George's speech has caused an uproar. Although I think George's words are more about fighting for a higher amount of money for his next contract and expressing his attitude for the team and the championship, his words are indeed "yin and yang" to Leonard, who has ended the past four seasons early due to injury, including a full season reimbursement. Obviously, as the core boss of the Clippers, after another knee injury ended the season early, this time Leonard was no longer encouraged and comforted, and almost all the reviews were against him. In the eyes of everyone, in terms of division of responsibility, Leonard needs to take the main responsibility for the Clippers' exit and the failures of these years.
3 years and 149 million, this is the early contract extension that the Clippers previously re-signed with Leonard. At first, Leonard sacrificed nearly $10 million in salary for the continued cooperation of the Big Three (he can sign a contract of more than $160 million for up to three years), but now it seems that Leonard has made a lot of money, and the Clippers management is in trouble. In any case, even if the Clippers are still interested in keeping Leonard, at least if the contract extension is delayed for now, the Clippers look like they can save some expenses. In fact, Clippers management has been very cautious when it comes to Leonard's contract issues. For such a recognized top superstar, who is definitely in the top 5 in the league when healthy, the Clippers didn't even consider signing Leonard as soon as the extension window opened.
In fact, the contract renewal window between Leonard and George opened as early as August last year, when people like thick eyebrows and Jaylen Brown quickly signed the maximum salary contract with their old clubs. But the Clippers waited until the team was really on the right track and won consecutive games before finally opening negotiations with Leonard. Truth be told, Clippers management has been cautious enough, and Harden's arrival has not only freed Leonard and George, but the two of them don't need to hold the ball every time they attack like they used to. To put it bluntly, Leonard and George played more easily, they were much less stressed, and their bodies were much less burdened.
This also helped Leonard to a certain extent, as his 68 regular season appearances in a single season set a new high for his Clippers career. However, before the playoffs came, Leonard fell. The recurrence of his knee injury this time was definitely more desperate than the previous ones. Because when Leonard's on-court task burden is reduced, he will still be unable to withstand the pressure on his knees at some point at the end of the season, which may also mean that Leonard's knees do have a load ceiling. In the past, he may have played 50-60 games a season, but after the pressure has eased this season, including the two playoff games with injuries, Leonard has played 70 games, which may be the limit of the number of games his knee can withstand before getting a long rest.
Compared to previous seasons, I believe Leonard has matured a lot now. The Clippers are not like the Spurs, no one forced him to play, and the warmth given by the team, coupled with the increase in age, has allowed Leonard to learn a lot. Although he still doesn't know how to face the media, within the team, Leonard knows he has to take responsibility. Remember that before the first round of G2 began, most people sarcastically mocked Leonard, saying that others who were doubtful might play, but Leonard would not. When it comes to protecting himself, Leonard doesn't need anyone to worry about, as long as he feels that something is wrong, he won't fight. The result was obvious, Leonard punched everyone in the face, and everyone saw the state of his G2G3 knees.
If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't hold on, if it wasn't for the negative impact on the team on the field, Leonard would definitely insist on playing with an injury. But now it doesn't make sense to say that, when it comes to Leonard, we always say how good he is. But when it comes to historical rankings, we don't pay much attention to Leonard, because Leonard won't have a chance to win a personal top honor like regular season MVP, and the future is basically even more impossible. The knee, which has undergone multiple surgeries, has become a fatal danger for Leonard today. Load management can affect the mentality of his teammates, forcing him to play in a row, and his knees are not competitive. Such a top-level player, but at the peak of his age, because of injuries, he has no chance to chase greatness.