Kawhi Leonard sidelined with knee injury, which means he'll miss his return to Clippers' Intuit Dome
Leonard will not be on the floor as the Raptors make their only trip to L.A. next week
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Kawhi Leonard will miss at least one week with swelling in his left knee. The Toronto Raptors said on Tuesday that the star will go through a treatment and rehabilitation plan for his knee and be reevaluated in a week.
The positive note in the release is that an MRI "revealed no acute injury" but given Leonard's injury history, him missing time this early in the season with knee discomfort and swelling is a concern for a Raptors team that had hopes of contending in a stout Eastern Conference.
Leonard played in the first two wins of the season for Toronto against the Bulls and the Wizards, averaging 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in those two starts but was off with his shooting to start the year. Then on Sunday he sat out with knee discomfort in a loss to the Timberwolves, and now he will miss at least a week of action and potentially more.
With a timetable of one week from Tuesday for his reevaluation, Leonard will miss at least the next four games for the Raptors. That includes Toronto's lone trip to Los Angeles this season, where they'll play a back-to-back against the Lakers on Sunday and the Clippers on Monday. So this injury means Leonard will not be playing at the Intuit Dome this season.
Leonard was traded to the Raptors from the Clippers this summer. The deal did not officially go through until the league finished its investigation into the Clippers and salary cap circumvention involving Leonard. The Clippers were severely punished by the NBA (losing five first-round picks, getting hit with a $30 million fine and seeing owner Steve Ballmer and other executives suspended), while Leonard got traded and only had to pay a $700,000 fine.
Leonard's return to the Intuit Dome figured to be greeted with plenty of animosity from the Clippers faithful for how his tenure there ended. But fans will have to keep waiting to greet Leonard back.
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