The LA Clippers may not be the Western Conference favorite this season like they were last season, but many still have high hopes in their coach Ty Lue. Among those are the NBA GMs all around the league.

Lue says the last time he had to teach this much was the 2021-22 season, when Kawhi Leonard was out after having ACL surgery and fellow All-Star Paul George missed all but 31 games.

The Clippers had a veteran roster with a majority of players returning for the 2023-24 season. This training camp is different with six players 25 or younger.

The two-time NBA Finals MVP was limited to knee strengthening exercises during training camp, but he kept an eye on his teammates, especially the new faces like guard Kris Dunn and athletic forward Derrick Jones Jr. He also kept tabs on young big man Kai Jones.

I asked Leonard which Clippers stood out to him in this first week of training camp practices in Hawaii. For fans and media used to standard platitudes and fluff from players in scrums, it can be eye-opening to hear Leonard say that “nobody stood out to me so far.