Kawhi Leonard's tenure with the Clippers has been marred by numerous injuries and his status for the 2024-2025 season remains in question.

As the organization plays out its inaugural season at the newly completed Intuit Dome, a new complication has arisen: A lawsuit filed Thursday by a former coach alleges unsafe treatment of the franchise's star player.

Randy Shelton was a strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State University and worked closely with Leonard during his time with the Aztecs.

The lawsuit says the Clippers began pursuing Kawhi Leonard in 2017 and used Shelton as an intermediary years before Leonard eventually joined the team.

After a devastating ankle injury during the Spurs-Warriors Western Conference Finals in 2016, assistant general manager Mark Hughes valued discretion when seeking Leonard's private health information through Shelton, the lawsuit says.

Hughes and Shelton spoke about 15 times by phone and seven times in person, Shelton said. The offer: a job as the Clippers' strength and conditioning coach if the team could persuade Leonard to join.

The team's wish was granted, and Leonard and Shelton were added in the 2019 offseason. From then on, Shelton was relegated to the sidelines as a new assistant coach, Todd Wright, took over his responsibilities, the lawsuit says.

Shelton's remaining job was to care for Leonard, a job that the lawsuit says was intentionally made more difficult because the team excluded Shelton from meetings and withheld “necessary medical treatment and information that impacted Leonard's training and health.”

Leonard's health problems continued. He suffered a torn ACL in the 2021 playoffs and Shelton set a two-year recovery goal — a timeline the Clippers weren't willing to accept, he says.

Upon Leonard's return for the 2022-2023 season, the team promised a minutes restriction and that the forward would not play consecutive games, but did not follow through on that promise, Shelton claims. After the first two games, Leonard complained of swelling and inflammation in his knee, and an MRI revealed cartilage damage.

The lawsuit says Leonard “received biologics to alleviate the problem” instead of giving the player the time needed to heal. Less than a month later, in November 2022, Leonard returned to play and suffered two torn ankle ligaments within a week.

Again, Shelton claims, the team demanded productivity by bypassing Shelton's advice and withholding information from him. Shelton says the team began pushing him out shortly afterward.

As Leonard struggled with these numerous injuries and the team's record faltered, his minutes per game increased from 32 in December 2022 to 35 in January and 38 in February.

This increased workload, which included a series of consecutive games in March and April 2023, helped the team earn a playoff spot as a No. 5 seed. In the first round against Phoenix, Leonard suffered a torn meniscus and cartilage damage to his repaired ACL, requiring further surgery.

After the injury, Shelton complained to the team. He said, according to the lawsuit, that “the mishandling of Kawhi Leonard's injury and return protocol was staggering” and that “the disregard for his recovery process is unacceptable.”

The Clippers conducted an internal investigation that concluded in June 2023 and found no wrongdoing. In July, President Lawrence fired Frank Shelton without explanation, according to Shelton.

In the 2023–2024 season, Leonard again suffered a physical breakdown that required another operation. Shelton accuses the team of putting too much pressure on Leonard.

“The Clippers place great value on revenue and profits, even the health and safety of their 'franchise' player Leonard,” the lawsuit states.

Leonard missed the 2024 Olympics and plans to start the 2024-2025 NBA season. His return date is unclear.

The Clippers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement to Chris Haynes, the NBA reporter who first reported the lawsuit, the Clippers said: “Mr. Shelton's claims were investigated and found to be without merit. We honored Mr. Shelton's employment contract and paid him in full. This lawsuit is a belated attempt to take down the Clippers based on allegations that Mr. Shelton should know are false.”