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Injury Update: Paul George is 'Feeling Better'
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On December 25th, it was announced that Paul George had suffered a tear in his right elbow. When George's injury was first announced on Christmas, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that "The team will reevaluate [George] in 3-4 weeks, they'll see if rest can get him on a pathway to recovery, but he's gonna be out certainly a significant period of time, and there's no real sense of when, or if, he'll be back this year." That reevaluation ultimately happened exactly two months after the initial announcement, and the results are in.
On Friday, LA Clippers head coach Ty Lue was asked about Paul George. "He feels better, he's making progress, but he's gonna need more time," Lue said. That was the extent of Lue's update, who said he was "not sure" when asked if George would be able to return this season.
While it has never been explicitly stated by anyone within the organization, it has always been logical to assume that Paul George's availability to return this season would impact Kawhi Leonard's willingness to attempt a return himself. Should George come back, it would seemingly incentivize Kawhi's pursuit of a return as well.
With the Clippers still very much alive in the Western Conference playoff picture, there is real incentive for both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to rejoin the team if they are able to. Had the Clippers been deep into the lottery at the time of George's reevaluation, there would likely be little discussion about bringing he or Kawhi back. However, with the team firmly in command of at least a play-in spot, adding one or both of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George could drastically change the Western Conference landscape.
There are obviously several things that must go right in order for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to make returns this season, but that door has yet to be shut by Ty Lue or anyone else in the organization. Since it was first indicated by Kawhi Leonard himself on media day that a return this season was not off the table, the Clippers have adhered to a vision of maintaining playoff positioning should Kawhi get healthy enough to return. With Paul George then also going down, this vision became blurry. Since then, the Clippers have found a way to maintain a top-8 seed, and will now have to wait a bit longer for Paul George's status.
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