I don't think most of you understand what really happened here.
Doc Rivers held Kawhi out of a game against the reigning league MVP.
Then he said that Kawhi "feels fine".
Silver was pissed. That game was a big ticket draw, and the league doesn't like it when superstars get held out of those kinds of games.
Then the Clippers went into damage control mode. They said that Rivers mis-spoke, and that Kawhi was really held out due to a chronic injury.
That gave Silver a cover story. He can say that the fans didn't get screwed - Kawhi really missed the game due to health issues.
Bottom line, it's all about the money and appearances, and giving Silver a way to save face with fans who were pissed. Now Doc has his permanent story, and he won't make the mistake of saying Kawhi feels fine ever again. When he holds Kawhi out, it will be to rest his chronic injury.