Clippers say Kawhi Leonard is cleared for 5-on-5 play

LOS ANGELES: Kawhi Leonard has been cleared for 5-on-5 basketball again, more than a year since his last NBA game.

Los Angeles Clippers President Lawrence Frank said Thursday that the team will proceed with some caution with Leonard, the two-time NBA Finals MVP and five-time All-Star who tore the ACL in his right knee during the playoffs in June 2021.

Leonard missed the remainder of that postseason, and the entirety of this past season.

“Well, I think, one, he feels great,” Frank told reporters in Los Angeles. “Two, his plan is, look, he wants to participate in everything. And I think, three, organizationally, we’re going to be cautious. So it will be a step-by-step approach.”

Leonard being cleared was expected, given how long he has been sidelined and the typical time it takes to recover from ACL surgery. But it still is a major step for the Clippers, who believe they can contend for a championship this season if healthy.

“You want those expectations,” Frank said. “Any time you have a talented team, there should be expectations. You embrace them, and you always have to shoot for the highest goal. Our goal is not just to try to compete and win a championship this year, but be in the same position the following year and the following year after that.”

There was other positive injury news from Frank on Thursday. He said forward Paul George’s elbow injury — one that limited him to 31 games last season — is also a thing of the past. Frank also said George was crucial to the Clippers’ recruitment of former All-Star guard John Wall, who signed with the team with hopes of reviving his career after a long series of injuries.

Wall was selected for the All-Star Game in five consecutive seasons from 2014 through 2018, but