The NBA season 2024/25 is almost here and right on cue, the Los Angeles Clippers fan were treated to the news they wake up every day fearing.
Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss an indefinite time to start the season as he recovers from an inflammation in his right knee.
As a player who effectively made “Load management” a famous (or infamous) term for the NBA, the latest absence will serve as a huge cause of frustration for fans.
In a competitive NBA landscape where as many as 11-12 teams could feasibly make a deep run if things fall right, the Los Angeles Clippers can no longer afford to miss Leonard.
However, a sidestory has developed this time which makes it an even bigger deal. This injury and its effects won’t just be limited to the Clippers.
It could be over for the entire NBA.
The year is 2019. Paul George is angling to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder and the LA Clippers with Steve Ballmer are ambitious players in the market.
They trade for Paul George and in the process, mortgage their whole future with the Thunder to bank on a Leonard-George core bringing home a championship.
Fast forward five years later, George is already at a different team, while Leonard is nowhere near reliable enough to become a core player in a championship team.
With this latest injury, the Clippers face a real chance of missing out on the playoffs altogether, barring some heroics from James Harden.
If that were to happen, then Thunder’s pick swap, negotiated in that fated 2019 trade will come into the picture.
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They already have a competitive team that finished first in the conference and lost out in the Conference semifinals to eventual finalists Dallas Mavericks.
If the Clippers miss the playoffs and end up in the lottery, Thunder will swap their picks with the Clippers, giving them a lottery pick while having a roster that is good enough to win the lot already.
Lottery pick is still fine since the draft is always a bit of an unknown but luck will meet opportunity in Thunder’s case because the 2025 class is one of the best in recent memory.
In the best-case scenario for the Thunder, which would be the worst-case for the NBA, Thunder could end up with the top pick, netting them Cooper Flagg, one of the best prospects in recent history.
As a two-way forward who combines great athleticism with agility and on-ball skills, Flagg would be a great addition to any NBA team.
Alongside the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams, he would give Thunder a bonafide world-class core.
The scariest thing is that all of those players are yet to reach their peak and Thunder are already a contender for the title.
It really is over for the NBA if they get Flagg.
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