Clippers miss Kawhi Leonard but appreciate his coaching

PLAYA VISTA — First, foremost, for sure: Tyronn Lue would rather be talking about Kawhi Leonard’s performance on the court than his contributions off it.

By all accounts, the Clippers’ injured star has been an active participant – vocally, from the sidelines – so far in training camp.

But, yes, Lue couldn’t help but laugh: “I’d rather have him out there!”

On July 13, Leonard underwent surgery to repair a torn right anterior cruciate ligament that he sustained in Game 4 of the Clippers’ second-round playoff clash against Utah.

He left open the door for a potential return this season when he spoke at media day and offered his first public comments about his decision to re-sign on a sign a four-year, $176.3 million deal (with a player option for the final season).

“I wanted to secure some money,” Leonard said late last month. “And I wanted to be able to come back if I was able to this year. If I would have took the one-and-one, I probably would have not played just to be cautious and opted out and took a five-year.”

Still, there’s no timetable for his return: “He has a torn ACL,” Clippers forward Nicolas Batum said, “it’s not a sprained ankle. So we want him to have the best recovery possible because, we don’t want him to be, ‘OK, we want you back to your 75% when you come back and then two weeks after, bang. No, we want him to be 150% before he comes back.”

And he isn’t exactly gone.

“Yeah he’s right there,” Batum said before practice Friday at the Clippers’ training facility, with a nod across the gym, toward where the weight training equipment is stationed. “Like he’s here today. He’s here, he’s around every day. He’s been vocal … he’s a good coach, and he’s like that actually. So that’s good to have around because, you know, we miss him, but he can still have an impact on the team anyway.”

And what is Coach Kawhi like?

“He’s not like the loudest one, but no, he knows what to say, what to do,” Batum said. “When he has (something) to say, especially on the side when we play five-on-five … he’ll take guys on the side and tell you what he sees, what he just saw the last previous play.”

And for a young player especially, that sort of insight, when it comes from a two-time NBA Finals MVP, a five-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection, it resonates differently than even when it comes from the head coach – according to the head coach.

“Just having Kawhi talking to those guys, letting them know what he sees, things they can get better at, that’s a huge lift,” Lue said. “That’s a lot of motivation,  just coming from him, a player of that caliber.

“And the same with PG,” added Lue, noting that the Clippers do have Paul George, a six-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA pick on the court, intending to lift the for-now-Leonard-less team into contention again after having carried them to the franchise’s first Western Conference finals appearance last season.

“I mean, (George) is doing a great job with these young guys,” Lue said. “Just keeping their confidence up and making sure their confidence doesn’t waver, because that’s very easy to do when you’re a young player.”

While Leonard’s observations are helping his teammates’ games – the extra practice he’s getting vocalizing those views could be helping him with his own, already exemplary game, Lue suggested.

“He’s definitely a leader by example,” Lue said. “Just the work he puts in, and being early every day, staying late, working on his game. And having the same routine every single day, so we see that.

“The vocal leadership, it’s just different for everyone. Last year he took a step forward of just being more vocal, and this year, when he’s around he’s doing the same thing. I just think it’s a process, you know? I think it’s like every year you add something to your game, basketball-wise. I think, leadership as far as being vocal, it’s the same thing, just taking steps and he’s definitely done that, in taking steps in the right direction.”