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Reports: LA Clippers Players Left Unhappy With Kawhi Leonard’s Indiscipline

Published 10/16/2020, 7:51 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Following their playoff debacle, the team chemistry of the LA Clippers was in question. While Paul George said they weren’t competing, but Lou Williams said just the opposite. Later, George also tried to talk to his teammates about making a run next year. But he was met with “eye rolls and bewilderment.

The actual situation seems to be even worse. Superstar Kawhi Leonard has often been mocked for his load management. Although it worked for him and the Raptors last season, his Clippers teammates weren’t too impressed about it.

Jovan Buha and Joe Vardon of The Athletic wrote, “Players like Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams—Clippers’ bedrocks before the arrival of Leonard and George—bristled when Leonard was permitted to take games off to manage his body and to live in San Diego, which often led to him being late for team flights, league sources said. The team also allowed Leonard to dictate to Doc Rivers when he could be pulled from games, among other things. Tyronn Lue was on Rivers’ bench for all of this, but the Clippers were Rivers’ show.”

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USA Today via Reuters

Is this the last season for Kawhi and the LA Clippers?

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Leonard has a player option for the 2021 Free Agency. If the team chemistry is at such low levels, Leonard is bound to make an exit. He came to the Clippers to help them build a dynasty, but there seem to be many problems within the team.

With Montrezl Harrell becoming a free agent now, this season was the Clippers’ best chance to win. They will not be able to re-sign him because he will command a bigger contract now. This leaves them with a huge void in the big man department.

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USA Today via Reuters

Unless new head coach Tyronn Lue is able to keep the team together, an exit after the next season is on the cards for Kawhi. It will be tough for any team, if the role players are not fond of the star players on the roster. Lue will have to ensure that the team can stays together and competes once again. They will be aiming for a better playoff run and hope to win their first ever NBA title.

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Written by:

Aaron Mathew

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Aaron Mathew is a sports analyst at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Mass Media from Xavier’s College, Aaron has been a part of EssentiallySports since May 2020 where he covers both NBA and NCAA basketball news, and has also covered NBA 2K. In the past, Aaron has worked at the Sports Desk of Mumbai Mirror.
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