Los Angeles Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank is “very disappointed” that Kawhi Leonard was removed from Team USA’s roster for the Olympics and disputes a statement by USA Basketball that his team played a role in the decision.
Frank addressed the issue while speaking to reporters in Las Vegas on Monday.
“It was USAB’s decision and, frankly, I was very disappointed in the decision,” Frank said. “Kawhi wanted to play. We wanted him to play.”
Lawrence Frank said it was Team USA’s decision that Kawhi Leonard not compete in the Olympics.
Frank was very disappointed with the decision and thought Kawhi looked great. image.twitter.com/8FT9feL73i
—Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) July 15, 2024
Leonard was initially selected to play for Team USA in what would have been his first Olympics. At the conclusion of Team USA’s training camp last week in Las Vegas, USA Basketball announced it would replace Leonard with Boston Celtics guard Derrick White.
Leonard, a six-time All-NBA selection and two-time Finals MVP, finished the Clippers’ season with a knee injury that kept him out of the team’s final three playoff games in April and May. He participated in the first few practices of Team USA’s four-day camp before the team ultimately made the decision to release him, citing his “best interest.”
“Kawhi has been preparing for the Olympics over the past several weeks and has had some intense practices in Las Vegas,” the statement released July 10 read. “He felt prepared to compete. However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers have determined that it is in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming season rather than participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.”
USA Basketball CEO Grant Hill said after the decision that “we just had to make a change” and that “we all made a valiant effort” to have Leonard play on the team. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue is an assistant on Team USA coach Steve Kerr’s staff. It’s unclear what role, if any, Lue played in the decision.
Frank said he saw Leonard at early USA Basketball practices and thought he looked “really good.”
“I was there the first two practices,” Frank said when asked if Leonard had any setbacks with his knee injury. “He looked great, he was fully involved in everything they did. I wasn’t there the third practice, where ultimately, that was the point where they decided to go in a different direction. I expressed then that I really wished they would have given Kawhi more time.
“We have the advantage of being around Kawhi for five years to see his body, see where he’s at. I thought he was fine. I know all the sacrifices he made to be able to commit to the Olympics. So it was very disappointing.”
Frank went on to say that he understands that Team USA has to make decisions that are in the best interest of the team and that he will support Team USA Basketball during the Olympics.
The U.S. team beat Australia 98-92 on Monday in a friendly in Abu Dhabi, in which Kevin Durant did not play. The U.S. previously beat Canada in a friendly in Las Vegas on July 10.
