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Leonard (knee) has not yet been cleared to take contact, but he's been spotted shooting during the Clippers' recent practices and traveled with the team for its back-to-back road games in Houston a few weeks ago, Law Murray of The Athletic reports.
The Clippers haven't provided many formal updates regarding where Leonard stands in his recovery from surgery to address a partial ACL tear of his right knee, an injury he sustained in LA's Western Conference semifinals matchup with the Jazz last June. Though fantasy managers may have selected Leonard in drafts with the hope that a partial ACL tear rather than a full tear might require a shorter recovery timeline, he's now more than eight months removed from surgery and doesn't look to be a close to a return. Meanwhile, Paul George has been sidelined since late December and also hasn't resumed practicing with the team, but Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported March 9 that the Clippers have far more optimism about George returning to action in 2021-22 than Leonard. At this point, it would be a surprise if Leonard played before the regular season ends April 10, and the Clippers may need to make a deep postseason run for the 30-year-old to reach a point in his recovery from the knee injury where he'll be ready to play.
