Clippers Notes: Leonard, Powell, Bamba, Van Gundy

The Hair clippers‘ The season opener is just a week away, and there is little clarity about it Kawhi Leonardwrites Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Leonard is still dealing with the right knee inflammation that knocked him out of the team’s first round of the playoffs last spring and kept him from playing in the Olympics. Coach Tyron Lue has already confirmed that Leonard will not be used during the preseason, but beyond that his status is unclear.

“Keep rehabbing, keep getting better and keep checking the boxes,” Lue responded when asked how the team is handling Leonard.

In addition to the Clippers’ need to get off to a good start in what looks to be an intense Western Conference playoff race, Leonard’s ongoing knee issues raise concerns about his future. This is the first season of his three-year, $152 million contract extension, and the team will need him on the field as much as possible to remain competitive after his loss. Paul George in free agency.

There’s more from Los Angeles:

• After playing primarily off the bench since joining the Clippers, Norman Powell hopes to earn a starting role this season, Turner added in the same piece. Lue talked about what the veteran swingman needs to do to become a full-time starter. “Being able to score the basketball. If you don’t, take on the defensive challenge every night,” Lue said. “So being able to monitor his position and match with boys. We talked about taking on the challenge defensively during the playoffs in Phoenix two years ago. He’s gotten a lot better. So just being able to guard guys every night, being able to switch, sometimes being able to guard point guards when we need him too. So far he has been phenomenal in this training camp.”
• The team remains hopeful of a backup center Mohammed Bamba will be able to recover from his knee pain in time to play next week, The Athletic’s Law Murray tweets. Bamba said the soreness is a result of the wear and tear of his six NBA seasons, and he has no official timetable for returning.
• Assistant coach Jeff Van Gundyjoining the Clippers staff this summer has increased the team’s aggression level on defense, notes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. LA had 20 steals and forced 29 turnovers in Monday’s win over Dallas.“The defensive coordinator usually has to be the guy who is the bad guy because you have to be tough and hold everyone accountable,” fellow assistant Brian Shaw said. “So sometimes when he’s like that, we have to be the good cops to keep the balance, but it was good.”