By Somin Bhattacharjee,The SportsRush

Copyright yardbarker

Kawhi Leonard may be on his way out of the Los Angeles Clippers after recent allegations that owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap to pay him came to light. Although there has been no verdict yet, there is a chance the Clippers could be punished. The League could void Leonard’s contract, leaving room for other teams to pursue him. Robert Horry believes this would be monumental, noting that there is a difference in the 2025/26 Leonard.

One thing holding Leonard back from succeeding in Los Angeles has been his constant injury troubles, especially in the postseason. To put it into context, out of the 43 playoff games the Clippers have taken part in since he joined, Leonard has played only 28.

For someone of Leonard’s quality to miss those important games means the Clippers get handicapped. But Horry feels that something’s about to change heading into the new campaign, whether it’s with the Clippers or not.

There will be a bunch of teams interested in Leonard, according to the Lakers legend. And they could hit a jackpot, because Horry predicts a completely healthy Kawhi Leonard. Fresh and ready to succeed.

“He’s not a guy that’s gonna cause conflict in your locker room, and I think, this year, he’s gonna be 100% healthy,” said Horry on his podcast. “I truly believe that because I think you go through a stage where you come back too early… and I think a lot of his injuries stem from him coming back too early.”

Horry isn’t wrong, and the 2022–23 season provides perfect evidence of that. Leonard tore his ACL the previous year and tried to ease back into action a bit too early. His knee soon swelled up, causing him to miss games due to recurring issues. He was eventually forced to sit out the final and most important stretch of the season.

Leonard seems to have taken that as a lesson and now goes slow during the regular season. In fact, the 2024/25 campaign saw him as healthy in the postseason as he has been in recent years. With a full summer of training and recovery, he will be revitalized, whether for the Clippers or for another team.

Talking about the chances of his contract getting voided, Horry opined that there would be a ton of stipulations. He feels that Leonard won’t be allowed to just go wherever he wants to. “They gonna have to do it, cuz think about it, they gonna fine you $28 million, or something like that. They ain’t gonna let him be a free agent, because he will hit a lot more than the $100 million if he becomes a free agent, think about it.”

Despite being 34 years old, Leonard will still command a huge figure for any team to sign him. Horry took Joel Embiid, who has injury problems of his own, as an example.

“I just think that in this day and age, with a talent like this, a game changer like this, you got to take that chance…” the seven-time NBA champ added.