Kawhi Leonard withdraws from USA basketball squad on eve of Paris Olympics

Kawhi Leonard will ultimately not be part of the United States basketball team competing in the Olympic Games in Paris.

It would have been the first Olympic trip for Leonard, who has missed 12 of the Los Angeles Clippers’ last 14 games this season because of inflammation in his right knee. USA Basketball said it worked with the Clippers to decide Leonard’s status.

“Kawhi has been preparing for the Olympics for the past few weeks and has had some good workouts in Las Vegas,” USA Basketball said in a statement. “He felt ready to compete. However, he respects that USA Basketball and the Clippers have decided it is in his best interest to spend the remainder of the summer preparing for the upcoming [NBA] season instead of participating in the Olympic Games in Paris.”

USA Basketball may replace Leonard on the 12-man roster and is working to sign Boston Celtics guard Derrick White to take his place, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Leonard said earlier this week that his knee is doing well and that he was able to resume training on the field about three weeks ago in preparation for the Olympics.

“I’m ready to go,” Leonard said then. “I’m playing now, so I’m happy.”

A few days later, just hours before the U.S.’s first practice game against Canada and a day before the team was scheduled to leave for Abu Dhabi—the first of two international stops for more games and training before arriving in France for the Olympics—Leonard was gone.

That leaves the U.S., at least for the very short term, with 10 available players. Kevin Durant will not play against Canada because of a calf injury and was unable to participate in the team’s four-day training camp in Las Vegas that ended Tuesday.