{"id":266667,"date":"2025-09-30T14:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/266667\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T14:04:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:04:12","slug":"kawhi-leonards-media-day-response-shows-the-art-of-the-clippers-blocking-out-the-noise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/266667\/","title":{"rendered":"Kawhi Leonard\u2019s media day response shows the art of the Clippers blocking out the noise"},"content":{"rendered":"

INGLEWOOD, Calif. \u2014 If you\u2019ve seen one NBA media day, you know the drill. It\u2019s orientation day. It\u2019s the first day of school. It\u2019s picture day.<\/p>\n

You show up, get your new threads on, and look alive. After all, how you look and feel and, this one\u2019s important, vibe with the station to station loitering that makes up the content schedule is going to be what the fans see all season long. You have to look hype, because there are digital content creators who need you to hype the fans up for that \u201cMake some noise!\u201d video that will play when you\u2019re down a dozen points entering the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

Now, you could be Chris Paul. That man has seen 20 media days in seven cities, so he has a different take on all of the above.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re at media day, then two things,\u201d said Paul, who is back with the LA Clippers for the first time in nine seasons. \u201cThat means you\u2019re still in the NBA, which is a privilege. And then what it also means is that training camp starts the next day, right. And that\u2019s one of the most exciting times of the year, every single year, because every team goes into training camp thinking that they\u2019re going to win the championship, or at least have a chance at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s a really fun time of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

Of course, there are the NBA media days you get used to, and then there are Clippers media days.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s always something<\/a>, especially since star forward Kawhi Leonard joined the franchise in 2019. This year was going to add to the thread, as Leonard has been the subject of allegations that the Clippers were using the now-bankrupt Aspiration to circumvent the NBA\u2019s salary cap. If your main objective on media day was to experience Leonard \u201cbreaking his silence\u201d on the aspersions cast upon the Clippers, well, it was a long day.<\/p>\n

Leonard didn\u2019t get seated to address the press until 1 p.m. local time, more than two hours after Clippers basketball president Lawrence Frank wrapped up a session with the media that lasted almost 25 minutes and included a prepared statement that both deferred questions about the league\u2019s investigation into the Clippers as well as express confidence in what the league\u2019s investigation will show.<\/p>\n

In years past, the Clippers have made around eight players available, with Leonard being one of the first to the podium. That would have been the plan this year as well, ideally, especially since the Clippers have touted that they have 11 rotation-worthy players who have all played at least eight NBA seasons.<\/p>\n

But Leonard preferred to address the media in the latter part of the day\u2019s schedule, and the only players who went before him were Paul, James Harden, Bradley Beal, and John Collins. When Leonard was finally ready to get to the podium, he took a quick stop to get into his light blue sweat suit, a signal that his visit to the media was his final stop of the day. He strolled to the table on the elevated platform and sat down calmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m ready,\u201d Leonard said.<\/p>\n

And Leonard certainly was ready. He expressed how \u201ceasy\u201d it was for him to disregard outside noise. He used the word \u201cconspiracies<\/a>\u201d twice to describe reporting. Leonard even suggested that this was all old news, and that he knew what the fallout of Aspiration\u2019s bankruptcy would mean for him a long time ago. Ultimately, Leonard compared this potential \u201cdistraction\u201d to the January wildfires that disrupted his return to action last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I came back, that first game, my house and my community caught on fire,\u201d Leonard said Monday. \u201cSo I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be harder than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

No other Clippers addressed the media after Leonard said that. Leonard was relieved from the podium, and went about the rest of his afternoon. The tone that the organization took on the Aspiration scandal was reaffirmed by Leonard himself: that his name being besmirched in new ways just as the season was about to get underway would not deter Leonard or his team from focusing on the evergreen goal of making a run at a title.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just going to keep going as any other season,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cMy name might pop up, but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

That brings it back to objectives on media day and how this is a very \u201cseasoned\u201d team, to borrow a quote from Frank. At some point, the league will complete the investigation, it will get to the system arbitrator, then the commissioner will have to decide on punishment that includes one of the 30 NBA owners and one of the league\u2019s active future Hall of Fame players. That day could deal a critical blow to the Clippers, both in the present and future tense.<\/p>\n

That day was never going to be media day. And that day is not anything that the Clippers\u2019 other players can control. So while many people focus on the new developments in the Aspiration scandal, that doesn\u2019t mean that the Clippers\u2019 veteran players were walking around Intuit Dome Monday morning as if a new episode of \u201cPablo Torre Finds Out\u201d was playing on the Halo Board.<\/p>\n

If you have been on the Clippers roster the last couple of seasons, you are conditioned in the art of keeping the main the main thing. Harden is a player who described himself Monday as having had \u201c16 sour tastes\u201d in his mouth, a reference to making the playoffs every season of his career and falling short of a championship each time. But despite the acknowledgement that only a \u201chandful\u201d of teams can actually win a championship on a yearly basis, Harden believes that his team can do it, and that gives him the kind of energy that belies whatever is going on with the organization and Leonard\u2019s endorsement deals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a sour taste,\u201d Harden said Monday. \u201cLike, we got half of a new roster. I mean, really, feeling like we\u2019re rejuvenated with the guys that we got.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure, the Clippers have concerns. New addition Bradley Beal had his right knee scoped after last season, his last with the Phoenix Suns. He and Bogdan Bogdanovi\u0107 (proximal hamstring tendon tear) will be limited to begin training camp. But the team is otherwise healthy, including Leonard, who is, annually, not healthy at this time of the year. Bogdanovi\u0107 told me that he was scared when he was injured, but it appears that he avoided the worst case scenario. And Beal made it clear that his priority is not to score, but to be the best teammate that he can be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be what everybody expects it to be,\u201d Beal says of his role on the Clippers this season. \u201cThat\u2019s honestly not what I really care about. It\u2019s about what\u2019s beneficial for the team, and whatever job they need me to go do, I\u2019m going to go out there and execute it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then there were players like Collins, who just spent two seasons on a Utah Jazz team that won fewer games combined in those seasons (48) than the Clippers did last season (50). Collins, one of four new veteran Clippers additions, sounded thrilled just to be in a winning atmosphere. Should he be concerned about Leonard\u2019s chronic lack of availability? That was not something for Collins to discuss. He\u2019s excited just to be Leonard\u2019s teammate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to have him on my side,\u201d Collins said of Leonard. \u201cObviously, we all know Kawhi \u2014 not too long-winded conversations \u2014 but, you know what I mean, when we\u2019re talking about what we really want to do is win. And we don\u2019t really need to talk too much about that, you know what I\u2019m saying?<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what I want to do, and I want to respect his time, his greatness, and what he brings on the court with my 100 percent effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Chris Paul sits for a photo at Clippers media day on Monday. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Perhaps the best perspective of vibes on Clippers media day can be described by Paul. This is a player who has seen a lot of outrageous and extraordinary events. Hurricane Katrina hit right before his rookie season in New Orleans. \u201cBasketball reasons\u201d canceled a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. He was part of the Clippers crew that sent emojis to flip DeAndre Jordan\u2019s free agency decision a decade ago. He\u2019s been on four teams that changed owners, including two that were prefaced by league investigations facilitated by the same law firm tasked with investigating the Clippers now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s crazy is a lot of it, I somewhat forget or don\u2019t think about \u2019til somebody mentions it, to tell you the truth,\u201d Paul said. \u201cThat\u2019s because I got a lot of stuff going on, you know what I mean? As far as family, kids, wife, all that stuff going on. But definitely seen a lot and experienced a lot. So, yeah, it\u2019s been interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to get interesting with Leonard\u2019s status and the Clippers\u2019 standing this year. Leonard certainly waited to speak on media day for the first time since 2021. But overall, it was just another Clippers media day. And watching Leonard\u2019s teammates was a reminder that there is more to discuss than what\u2019s going on with Leonard, if anyone cares to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited about getting to work,\u201d Paul said Monday. \u201cThat\u2019s why I said, with media day today, that means we start tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Photo of Kawhi Leonard: Jayne Kamin-Oncea \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n