Clippers star Kawhi Leonard returns to practice in limited role

The Clippers were in the midst of a drill when suddenly, and even surprisingly, Kawhi Leonard joined their practice session Tuesday.

“We were doing a shooting drill at the beginning of practice and we go back and forth passing and I’m passing it to Kawhi, I go, ‘Oh, snap! That’s Kawhi!’ Know what I mean?” guard Jordan Miller said. “But again, it just gives us energy.”

“Like at this point where we’re at, we can get all the energy we need. So, like I said, it’s good to have him back on the court and at the end of the day we all want what’s best for him. So, whenever that is, whenever he can play with us, that’s great. But at the end of the day, we want what’s best for him.”

It was Leonard’s first practice with the Clippers since last season as he recovers from a right knee injury. Even though it was a limited team workout for Leonard, it became a spirited practice, coach Tyronn Lue said.

“He did offensive script, defensive work, and just no contact,” Lue said. “But he did pretty much everything else.”

Lue said Leonard “looked good” but did not give a time frame for when his best player will return.

“He’s not playing this week,” Lue said, “but he’s getting better.”

Lue then talked about the next steps for Leonard in his progression.

“Just continue to keep doing what we’re doing,” Lue said. “Just make sure he is learning so when he gets back he won’t be behind. So just going through the plays, going through our defensive coverages, our foundation, and just keep building up to be able to do contact. So, I’m not sure when that’s going to come.”

James Harden, Mo Bamba and Amir Coffey, all of whom missed the last game for the Clippers (14-11) because of injuries, were able to practice Tuesday. Kris Dunn also practiced. Derrick Jones Jr. sat out and he’ll be sidelined for two weeks because of a right hamstring injury.

Lue said it was a good sign to see Leonard on the court.

“Just seeing him out there moving, moving well,” Lue said. “So, I think the biggest thing for him is just the confidence in it. Just having the confidence to keep doing it, not to feel the pain, and just continue to keep getting through it. So, it was good to see him on the floor and it gave us a little juice today just for our guys seeing him on the floor. It really picked up our energy.”

Lue said the plan still is not to rush Leonard back and to wait until he’s fully healthy and ready to play. Leonard’s last game was in Game 3 of the Western Conference playoffs against Dallas in April. He worked out with Team USA in Las Vegas in July but eventually was sent home and didn’t play in the Olympics.

Lue said there will be more ramp-up for Leonard.

“Yeah, he’s got to do a lot more things to really get back on the floor,” Lue said. “We just want to make sure he’s at 100%. We don’t want to get him out there 70%, 75%. Like, let’s just take our time, make sure we get it right. Like I said, our medical staff … those guys have done a great job just making sure that he’s checking every box, not speeding through it, not skipping steps. We’re not going to let him skip steps and so we want to do right by Kawhi. They’ve done a good job.”

Leonard averaged a team-best 23.7 points last season as well as 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He shot 57.3% from the field and 39.3% percent three-point range. He played in 68 games, the most he played in since playing in 75 for the San Antonio Spurs in 2016-17.

He has won two NBA championships and was named the Finals’ most valuable player both times.

When Leonard returns, with the Clippers playing at a surprisingly high level that has them sixth in the Western Conference, Lue was asked if his All-Star has to be that dominant player of the past for them to keep winning.

“At some point. Not right away. Yeah, not right away,” Lue said. “But at some point, we need him to be Kawhi Leonard. And I think he can do that. And just seeing the year he had last year — 68 games and how he played at a high level. He was really, really playing at a high level.

“So we just got to get him back to that. It’s going to take some time and he can’t get frustrated with the process.”