Los Angeles Clippers turn to familiar ‘savior’ after Kawhi Leonard-Paul George experiment falls short

The Los Angeles Clippers are no stranger when it comes to falling short of expectations.

Just look at the last five years.

Leonard and George were not able to stay healthy during their time togetherGetty

The Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era that was filled with so much promise and excitement back in July of 2019, ended with a lowly whimper when George signed a four-year, $212 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers this past offseason.

The Leonard-George era came and went without so much a peep.

During the five years they spent together in Los Angeles, the Clippers advanced out of the first round only twice and reached the Western Conference Finals once.

That’s it.

This era of Clippers basketball will be remembered by all of the games that Leonard and George missed, rather than the games they actually played in.

They played in a total of 181 games together out of 453, including only 26 postseason games.

That boils down to a tick below 40% that Clippers fans saw Leonard and George on the court together over the last five years.

That is why at media day, there seemed to be no love lost between the Clippers and George’s departure to Philly.

“I don’t feel like it’s going to be harder for me personally,” Leonard said. “For anybody I’m on the court with, I don’t look at him to be my savior.”

It won’t be hard for Leonard now that he’s no longer playing aside George, because they barely played together in the first place.

George and Leonard played in only 26 postseason games together, going 13-13 over that spanGetty

With his star running mate officially out of town, it will be up to Leonard, and whatever James Harden has left in the tank, to propel the Clippers to the promised land.

Leonard isn’t the only former teammate of George’s who doesn’t view his departure as a big deal, in fact, quite the opposite.

Norman Powell sees it as a positive, as an opportunity for everyone else.

“I saw it as addition by subtraction,” Powell said. “More guys getting opportunities, including myself…”

The Clippers will also be moving into a new home this season, as the Intuit Dome in Inglewood is finally open for business.

It is a critical inflection point in franchise history, as the Clippers look to rebrand (new logo), move into a new arena and try to revamp the roster in an effort to once again be a major player in the Western Conference.

Much of, if not all of it, starts and ends with the health of Leonard and his knees.

Leonard has had a hard time being able to stay healthy during his time in LAGetty

Unfortunately for Clippers fans, that’s a gamble they’ve seen blow up in their faces on more than one occasion.

Now is the time for Leonard to prove the Clippers made the correct decision in signing him to a three-year, $153 million contract extension last January.

An extension that the Clippers did not offer George.

And now George is gone and it’s Leonard’s show to run.