Report: Frustration growing between Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers regarding his availability

[Uriel]

1514979647339081729

[Robz4000]

:lmao surprise surprise

[cd98]

It's the last time the Spurs confuse shyness with humility.

[Budkin]

All you Nephew / Uncle Dennis defenders GET IN HERE!

[K...]

Damn just when you thought he might finally wipe his own ass, a step back

[Chinook]

Don't know who that reporter is. It wouldn't be surprising if the Clips were annoyed with Leonard, but I also would assume they gave him that new contract fully understanding he wouldn't be available this season. Feels like a reporter throwing shit against the wall that seems plausible and hoping it'll stick

[heyheymymy]

I thought big dog was in the gym working hard to get back?

[Dex]

As anybody asked Uncle Dennis what he thinks?

[baseline bum]

What's this playoffs shit? Minnesota is the one in the playoffs. LA still has to beat the Pelicans to get in.

[Dex]

Don't know who that reporter is. It wouldn't be surprising if the Clips were annoyed with Leonard, but I also would assume they gave him that new contract fully understanding he wouldn't be available this season. Feels like a reporter throwing shit against the wall that seems plausible and hoping it'll stick

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

It would be one thing if this was an isolated incident, but we have ALL seen this movie before and know how it ends.

Kawhi has to be one of the softest "superstars" in the modern NBA era, and it's actually making the Spurs look better since other teams are now having to deal with his "load management" bullshit.

[Dex]

What's this playoffs shit? Minnesota is the one in the playoffs. LA still has to beat the Pelicans to get in.

Speaking of which:

1515001140412309514

LOL yeah, the Clippers are fucking done so this is a moot point anyways

[BatManu20]

Clips are cooked without either PG or Kawhi. Clippers fans starting understand the frustration of having to deal with nephew.

[Chinook]

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

It would be one thing if this was an isolated incident,

It IS an isolated incident. A chode popping up and saying "Kawhi's doing the LAC what he did to SAS," does not instantly get credibility any more than it would be if one of us had just pulling it out of our asses. Kawhi with a damaged right thigh torn a ligament in his right knee. He was not going to come back and play. It's not reasonable to have assumed he would. LAC signed him to a contract knowing that. But do you know who doesn't care about being reasonable? Fans and reporters who cater to them. They know that they can just throw shit like this out there, and people who don't like Kawhi because of what he did to SA are going to lap it up. It's extremely unlikely that something like this could be disproved to, which just makes it better.

I don't believe the report, because I don't think it makes sense. It wouldn't be shocking if some truth were in there somewhere, but I also think Spurs fans should avoid being such easy marks for folks like this.

[Arcadian]

Of course it is.

What will be his next demand? You already went to your favorite city, bitch. What else is there to hold out for? You've literally held out for all the things.

[Ice009]

Geez, Kawhi, if you're healed, toughen the fuck up and get ready to go.

TD would have played in the 2000 playoffs if Pop let him. TD also had a badly sprained ankle towards the end of the 2005 season and had to sit out games. I was worried he wouldn't play in the playoffs (I was able to see a picture of it on Spursreport that someone posted and it looked really, really bad), but come game 1 against the Nuggets, he was ready to go, and not only that, he played great in the series considering he had to go up against two good big man defenders in Nene and Marcus Camby.

I know Kawhi's injury isn't the same, but he's had quite a bit of time to heal and I'd say it's pretty close to the amount of time where it's fully healed. If he's been training/working out, why couldn't he actually make a serious effort to come back? He got paid his big contract. If he's cleared medically, I just don't think he wants it enough. You think Jordan would have sat out a playoffs if he could play?

Also, I was a Paul George fan before he went to OKC and the year he broke his leg, he came back at the end of the season to prove to himself and others that he can still play. I always respected him coming back at the end of that season even though they didn't really have a chance to do anything in the playoffs, at least he wanted to prove to himself that he wasn't going let that injury stop his career. He could have sat out that whole season and come back the following year, but he chose not to. Kawhi will take any time off these days.

[heyheymymy]

lol PG went fishing as soon as he found out Leonard was playing games with his return timeline.

PG shouldn't waste tread on the tires for a pointless endeavor.

[Ice009]

lol PG went fishing as soon as he found out Leonard was playing games with his return timeline.

PG shouldn't waste tread on the tires for a pointless endeavor.

I don't think it was PG's choice to miss the game.

However, with him out, and if Kawhi's teammates think Kawhi's been screwing around with them on his return, I wouldn't be surprised if they give up before the game has started. If Kawhi was serious about a return, I'm sure they'd give it all they got, but if this story is true, then I can easily see them giving up with PG out.

How long are the Covid protocols for now?

[Leetonidas]

:lmao this fucking guy

[PhantomDashCam]

Their first goes to OKC from the PG trade too. Another lottery selection for OKC seems likely after the PG H&S news.

[Ocotillo]

Westbrook to the Clips for Nephew? There is always a team that bails out the Lakers.

[dbestpro]

Dude wants to get paid with working. It's the modern American way.

[offset formation]

All you Nephew / Uncle Dennis defenders GET IN HERE!

Think there were 2, and 1l of those guys hasn't posted in a long long time. And 2 others that liked to just point and laugh. And then fans of other teams. Pretty small universe.

[offset formation]

As anybody asked Uncle Dennis what he thinks?

Meh, he shut up once he got his kickback from Balmer the way he wanted here.

[The Truth #6]

The report could be false, but it's not like the Clippers are happy that he isn't playing. I'm sure they're frustrated that they put everything on the table for someone who isn't healthy, and yes, he already has a history of alienating his teammates in LA with his particular habits and requests, unless we think those reports were false too. But I don't.

[Dverde]

His team is trying to prolong his career to get the gravy train as far as possible. He’ll probably have a setback just as the preseason starts and he’ll skip two months. I think this is a lot of smoke tho. He shouldn’t be coming back this year and the Clippers are dumb if they are pushing. I think Nephew got maybe three good years left and everyone knows it.

[Sugus]

Meanwhile, that same "reporter" two months ago:

1514994989801091073

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. News very well could end up being true, but nothing's been confirmed yet.

[R. DeMurre]

I dunno, the last video clip I saw of Kawhi from like a week ago showed him in a gym shooting, and moving very gingerly. No serious jab steps, no hard lateral movement. He didn't look like he was close to returning at all.

[timvp]

:lol

[timtonymanu]

Couldn’t have happened to a bigger POS. I hope he can never play in the nba again. Fingers crossed.

[RC_Drunkford]

dude played 178 games in the last 5 years :lmao

that's a little more than 2 seasons. Uncle Dennis is destroying his career and I love it

[baseline bum]

Speaking of which:

1515001140412309514

LOL yeah, the Clippers are fucking done so this is a moot point anyways

CROFL if both LA teams go into the lottery and neither gets a pick out of it :lmao

Thank god NOP took care of business

[John B]

Ka-who?? :lol

[Jordan Jackson]

Kevin O’Connor mentioned this on his podcast. This isn’t new - it’s been going on since the initial injury versus the Jazz. He claimed the Clippers misdiagnosed him.

Clippers franchise cursed anyway. Probably weren’t winning anything anyway *shrug*

[lmbebo]

lol. snake

[lefty20]

Shocked, I tell you. I am thoroughly shocked by this completely unexpected development. Wow!

[DeRozan m8]

Such a fvcking thieving dog coward with a criminal uncle

[exstatic]

Westbrook to the Clips for Nephew? There is always a team that bails out the Lakers.

So, Kawhi gets traded where he ABSOLUTELY doesn’t want to go again? Sign me up. :lol

[exstatic]

Kevin O’Connor mentioned this on his podcast. This isn’t new - it’s been going on since the initial injury versus the Jazz. He claimed the Clippers misdiagnosed him.

Clippers franchise cursed anyway. Probably weren’t winning anything anyway *shrug*

No, no, no, it’s all a big misunderstanding.

Chinook, probably…

[heyheymymy]

What would Clippers need to do to keep their pick or is it outbound regardless of outcome?

[Leetonidas]

What would Clippers need to do to keep their pick or is it outbound regardless of outcome?

Nope, owed outright to OKC. Fuckers getting a lottery pick they shouldn't have :lol

[baseline bum]

What would Clippers need to do to keep their pick

Go back in time

[exstatic]

What would Clippers need to do to keep their pick or is it outbound regardless of outcome?
They would have to beat New Orleans tonight without PG, and make the playoffs, knocking their pick out of the lottery.

[Spurs Homer]

Piece of shit traitor malingering retard

fuck him

whether the report is accurate is irrelevant

this malingering faggot was given the true diagnosis by the spurs - they knew his leg was gangrened rotten for life and they still wanted to treat him fairly

but the piece of shit bailed on the team, refused to even face his teammates, never showed up to the games in support of his team and then had one half of a good
season

and is now ruined for life

he got what he paid for
clippers got what they paid for


fuck them both

hope he actually suits up and plays again- only to reinjure himself again to end his career


karma

[Bojo]

Surely this is somehow Pop's fault.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

:lol

Well said!

Truth is, no one in any FO ever know what Kawhi’s camp is thinking. Balmer was an idiot for mortgaging the future of the franchise to sign Kawhi to a long term deal and give up a large chunk of his future draft power to acquire Leonard’s hand picked side kick.

Kawhi is damaged fvcking goods. Anyone who watched the play where he got injured who thinks it won’t easily happen again when Kawhi starts playing again is fooling themselves.

He’s made of glass, has zero pain threshold and I’ll be very surprised if he’s ever a #1 option on a championship team again.

[Das Texan]

in other news, water is wet.

[KobesAchilles]

Has there ever been a case where it’s taken a year to heal a partial torn ACL? With todays modern medicine it usually takes like 8-9 months. Klay came back before him :lol

[MultiTroll]

They would have to beat New Orleans tonight without PG, and make the playoffs, knocking their pick out of the lottery.
And if they win what will the range of the pick be at this time? Pre ping pong ball selection.

[Borosai]

FKL

[itzsoweezee]

They would have to beat New Orleans tonight without PG, and make the playoffs, knocking their pick out of the lottery.

The pick is unprotected. OKC gets the pick no matter what.

[Ice009]

dude played 178 games in the last 5 years :lmao

that's a little more than 2 seasons. Uncle Dennis is destroying his career and I love it

Wow. That is less games than I thought/remember he was out for. I guess since he's not on the Spurs anymore, I didn't realize how little he's played.


Kevin O’Connor mentioned this on his podcast. This isn’t new - it’s been going on since the initial injury versus the Jazz. He claimed the Clippers misdiagnosed him.

Clippers franchise cursed anyway. Probably weren’t winning anything anyway *shrug*

When did the initial injury happen? In the playoffs against the Jazz? What was the original diagnosis and what did the injury end up being?

[timtonymanu]

:lol Clippers
:lol missing the playoffs
:lol star player is done
:lol ballmer
:lol Morris Sr

[Spurs Homer]

lolololol

kawhitter cursed the clippers

[HemisfairArena]

Spurs fans still triggered by Kawhi,,,,:lmao

[ducks]

https://dknation.draftkings.com/2022/4/11/23015901/nba-injury-report-kawhi-leonard-update-nba-playoffs-2022-clippers

[Ice009]

lolololol

kawhitter cursed the clippers

Ahh where have you been the last 30 years or whatever it's been? People used to talk about the Clippers being cursed well before Kawhi showed up, so if you believe in any kind of curse, that was something said about them well before he got there. Not that I believe in it, I think it was mostly due to Sterling being a terrible and cheap ass owner that bought all that bad luck on himself, always letting players go and not wanting to pay anyone long term.

What I do find kind of ironic is with Kawhi's injury history, he chose to go to a team for a rep of being cursed. Obviously he didn't/doesn't believe in that prior to him going there, but now that he's been there for a bit and injuries have piled up, it's kind of funny/strange it has turned out this way thus far.

In my opinion, the Raptors were the perfect spot for him and he threw that away. He made a terrible decision leaving a championship team without at least trying once to repeat with them. Leaving a team that was built around him with great complimentary players to give him the best chance to succeed, I just don't know what he was thinking. Sure he wanted to go back home to LA, but winning the Championship and fitting as well as he did there, you know, you can change your mind and choose to stay. Just because he had it in mind before he went the Raptors to go to LA the following year, didn't mean he couldn't have changed his mind and stayed at least one more season with the Raptors.

If he never wins another ring, or his career goes down the toilet from here, I hope he regrets what he did to both the Spurs and Raptors (I doubt he will). He's bought all this on himself. If this current report/comment from another poster here is true about Kawhi saying the Clippers misdiagnosed his current injury, it seems he's always looking to blame someone else for his injuries instead of his own body breaking down on him.

Edit : What was the misdiagnosis anyway? I remember them saying in the playoffs last year that is was a small/partial tear of the ACL. Was it actually a full tear?

[exstatic]

Ahh where have you been the last 30 years or whatever it's been? People used to talk about the Clippers being cursed well before Kawhi showed up, so if you believe in any kind of curse, that was something said about them well before he got there. Not that I believe in it, I think it was mostly due to Sterling being a terrible and cheap ass owner that bought all that bad luck on himself, always letting players go and not wanting to pay anyone long term.

What I do find kind of ironic is with Kawhi's injury history, he chose to go to a team for a rep of being cursed. Obviously he didn't/doesn't believe in that prior to him going there, but now that he's been there for a bit and injuries have piled up, it's kind of funny/strange it has turned out this way thus far.

In my opinion, the Raptors were the perfect spot for him and he threw that away. He made a terrible decision leaving a championship team without at least trying once to repeat with them. Leaving a team that was built around him with great complimentary players to give him the best chance to succeed, I just don't know what he was thinking. Sure he wanted to go back home to LA, but winning the Championship and fitting as well as he did there, you know, you can change your mind and choose to stay. Just because he had it in mind before he went the Raptors to go to LA the following year, didn't mean he couldn't have changed his mind and stayed at least one more season with the Raptors.

If he never wins another ring, or his career goes down the toilet from here, I hope he regrets what he did to both the Spurs and Raptors (I doubt he will). He's bought all this on himself. If this current report/comment from another poster here is true about Kawhi saying the Clippers misdiagnosed his current injury, it seems he's always looking to blame someone else for his injuries instead of his own body breaking down on him.

Edit : What was the misdiagnosis anyway? I remember them saying in the playoffs last year that is was a small/partial tear of the ACL. Was it actually a full tear?

There probably wasn’t a misdiagnosis, just one that his Group didn’t want to hear.

[John B]

There probably wasn’t a misdiagnosis, just one that his Group didn’t want to hear.

Did the Spurs dodge the bullet on Kawhi? If Uncle Dennis didn’t happen and Kawhi ended up resigning with the Spurs, wouldn’t he be Spurs problem now with his debilitating condition? I already forgot if the Spurs we’re going to offer him a Max then and would that have been catastrophic for the Spurs? Or would the Spurs trade him in good conscience knowing what they knew? In hindsight having Demar and the assets/picks that the Spurs now have a better consolation?

[offset formation]

Did the Spurs dodge the bullet on Kawhi? If Uncle Dennis didn’t happen and Kawhi ended up resigning with the Spurs, wouldn’t he be Spurs problem now with his debilitating condition? I already forgot if the Spurs we’re going to offer him a Max then and would that have been catastrophic for the Spurs? Or would the Spurs trade him in good conscience knowing what they knew? In hindsight having Demar and the assets/picks that the Spurs now have a better consolation?

There were conflicting reports both ways as to whether they did, were, or weren't going to make the max offer and quite frankly I don't know which to believe. But I think it probably wouldn't have had any impact either way, cause neph is a homer and was always heading back to SoCal.

I think Uncle Fuckface could have probably convinced him to stay had the Spurs let him have what he wanted, which was pure extortion.

The unforgivable stuff for me is how they leaked lies and tried to trash the Spurs and how the media just ate it up. How he went AWOL on his team and coaches, and how he didn't even have the decency to sit with his teammates. Unacceptable shit. Fuck neph.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Management: "Time to get back on the court, Kawhi."

Autist: "UH ohhh... Time for Wheel of Fortune. Definitely time for Wheel of Fortune."


Kawhi is as big a head case as Ron Artest or Vernon Maxwell were. A player you can really count on - except when you can't.

[John B]

There were conflicting reports both ways as to whether they did, were, or weren't going to make the max offer and quite frankly I don't know which to believe. But I think it probably wouldn't have had any impact either way, cause neph is a homer and was always heading back to SoCal.

I think Uncle Fuckface could have probably convinced him to stay had the Spurs let him have what he wanted, which was pure extortion.

The unforgivable stuff for me is how they leaked lies and tried to trash the Spurs and how the media just ate it up. How he went AWOL on his team and coaches, and how he didn't even have the decency to sit with his teammates. Unacceptable shit. Fuck neph.

So it’s better that he’s somebody’s problem than Spurs?

[TDMVPDPOY]

isnt he up for a max contract extension? if ur ballmer, might as well cut ur losses

[XDT76]

isnt he up for a max contract extension? if ur ballmer, might as well cut ur losses

He already got his, this past off season. 4 years at 178M.

[offset formation]

So it’s better that he’s somebody’s problem than Spurs?

Why is this a question?

[John B]

Why is this a question?

Nah in hindsight Spurs dodged a bullet with this guy if he’s gonna be this much problem

[tonight...you]

isnt he up for a max contract extension? if ur ballmer, might as well cut ur losses
Keep up bubba.
C'mon now.

[Spurs Homer]

Ahh where have you been the last 30 years or whatever it's been? People used to talk about the Clippers being cursed well before Kawhi showed up, so if you believe in any kind of curse, that was something said about them well before he got there. Not that I believe in it, I think it was mostly due to Sterling being a terrible and cheap ass owner that bought all that bad luck on himself, always letting players go and not wanting to pay anyone long term.

What I do find kind of ironic is with Kawhi's injury history, he chose to go to a team for a rep of being cursed. Obviously he didn't/doesn't believe in that prior to him going there, but now that he's been there for a bit and injuries have piled up, it's kind of funny/strange it has turned out this way thus far.

In my opinion, the Raptors were the perfect spot for him and he threw that away. He made a terrible decision leaving a championship team without at least trying once to repeat with them. Leaving a team that was built around him with great complimentary players to give him the best chance to succeed, I just don't know what he was thinking. Sure he wanted to go back home to LA, but winning the Championship and fitting as well as he did there, you know, you can change your mind and choose to stay. Just because he had it in mind before he went the Raptors to go to LA the following year, didn't mean he couldn't have changed his mind and stayed at least one more season with the Raptors.

If he never wins another ring, or his career goes down the toilet from here, I hope he regrets what he did to both the Spurs and Raptors (I doubt he will). He's bought all this on himself. If this current report/comment from another poster here is true about Kawhi saying the Clippers misdiagnosed his current injury, it seems he's always looking to blame someone else for his injuries instead of his own body breaking down on him.

Edit : What was the misdiagnosis anyway? I remember them saying in the playoffs last year that is was a small/partial tear of the ACL. Was it actually a full tear?

The injury the spurs CORRECTLY diagnosed was some kind of long term leg/thigh condition that needed to be monitored and treated for possibly the rest of his career

but he didnt want to accept it and instead tried to blame the spurs medical staff

i cant quite remember the exact name of his injury (other posters im sure can chime in here)

and if you look at the past few seasons…

and kawhitter being the player that introduced “load management” into the nba lexicon
you can plainly see that the spurs medical staff was 100% spot on.


**found it -here it is;

"The Spurs have always called the injury quadriceps tendinopathy, which is a disease of the tendon that has a degenerative effect on the muscle by keeping it in a constant state of exhaustion."

[ismael-robert]

Nah in hindsight Spurs dodged a bullet with this guy if he’s gonna be this much problem

Why did that require hindsight

[exstatic]

Keep up bubba.
C'mon now.

He’s an idiot with a nose picking avatar.

[widowmaker]

Hahahahaha lol. Same story different team.

[John B]

Why did that require hindsight

I guess it’s for the best that Kawhi is no longer with the Spurs. He would’ve been Spurs problem now with his condition, the Spurs held hostage in a big contract. No youth rebuild that now seems to be on track. I don’t know if he would’ve rung with Aldridge instead the Raptors, that would be the big question.

[SAGirl]

The injury the spurs CORRECTLY diagnosed was some kind of long term leg/thigh condition that needed to be monitored and treated for possibly the rest of his career

but he didnt want to accept it and instead tried to blame the spurs medical staff

i cant quite remember the exact name of his injury (other posters im sure can chime in here)

and if you look at the past few seasons…

and kawhitter being the player that introduced “load management” into the nba lexicon
you can plainly see that the spurs medical staff was 100% spot on.


**found it -here it is;

"The Spurs have always called the injury quadriceps tendinopathy, which is a disease of the tendon that has a degenerative effect on the muscle by keeping it in a constant state of exhaustion."
That condition would require the resting he has needed. Spurs wanted him to play through the pain and he wouldn’t have any of it, he wanted at the time to recover to 100%. It’s possible he won’t ever be exactly as he was b4 the injury though he’s still a great player when healthy, but no longer a DPOY candidate even when healthy, so you see his intensity is not the same.

I also remember reading a leak that he had calcification in the tendon… I remember that because the jokes at the time were that he was growing bones/teeth in the thigh.

[Chinook]

That condition would require the resting he has needed. Spurs wanted him to play through the pain and he wouldn’t have any of it, he wanted at the time to recover to 100%. .

This is sort of true, as far as I remember. The Spurs didn't want Leonard to play through the pain rather than rest. They believed no amount of rest would fix the condition and rather that the rest of his career would be about pain management. Kawhi did want to rest more, but his people wanted that because they believed he had an accute injury that could be completely treated. Kawhi's actually had to do what the Spurs said he'd do, which is to manage the pain but also take games off. My guess is that Leonard could have played more than half the season in 2017-2018 had he accepted the Spurs' diagnosis and wanted to stay. It's possible that his ACL injury had something to do with him having his own medical team look after his leg rather than the Clippers doctors. The tears are considered freak injuries, but it being so close to a damaged area makes me wonder if it was some overcompensation that caused it.

Regardless, Kawhi didn't want to accept that he would be a part-time player if he followed the Spurs' suggestion. It's understandable. He was one of the best players in the NBA, and he'd have no chance at MVP and maybe even DPOY or All-NBA games if he only played 60 or so games a year for the Spurs. Dude was trying to make his own brand, whether for himself or because of the people around them. He was a guy in his 20s being told that he'd effectively be 10 years older from a maintenance perspective. I get it. Obviously it doesn't excuse exactly how shitty Leonard was, but I get why he didn't agree with the diagnosis and why he wanted to leave. It wouldn't surprise me at all if that injury basically killed his spirit. He'll probably make the HoF due mostly to his Spurs' and Raptors accomplishments. But what could his career have been had he never had the knee condition? He might have ended up being a GOAT candidate for all we know.

[Ice009]

This is sort of true, as far as I remember. The Spurs didn't want Leonard to play through the pain rather than rest. They believed no amount of rest would fix the condition and rather that the rest of his career would be about pain management. Kawhi did want to rest more, but his people wanted that because they believed he had an accute injury that could be completely treated. Kawhi's actually had to do what the Spurs said he'd do, which is to manage the pain but also take games off. My guess is that Leonard could have played more than half the season in 2017-2018 had he accepted the Spurs' diagnosis and wanted to stay. It's possible that his ACL injury had something to do with him having his own medical team look after his leg rather than the Clippers doctors. The tears are considered freak injuries, but it being so close to a damaged area makes me wonder if it was some overcompensation that caused it.

Regardless, Kawhi didn't want to accept that he would be a part-time player if he followed the Spurs' suggestion. It's understandable. He was one of the best players in the NBA, and he'd have no chance at MVP and maybe even DPOY or All-NBA games if he only played 60 or so games a year for the Spurs. Dude was trying to make his own brand, whether for himself or because of the people around them. He was a guy in his 20s being told that he'd effectively be 10 years older from a maintenance perspective. I get it. Obviously it doesn't excuse exactly how shitty Leonard was, but I get why he didn't agree with the diagnosis and why he wanted to leave. It wouldn't surprise me at all if that injury basically killed his spirit. He'll probably make the HoF due mostly to his Spurs' and Raptors accomplishments. But what could his career have been had he never had the knee condition? He might have ended up being a GOAT candidate for all we know.

Very interesting take, and also quite possibly very accurate account of things looking back at it.

As for you last couple of sentences, I really did think Kawhi was on his way to a dominant run in that 2017 season that might put him in the conversation had he stayed healthy and stayed with the Spurs. Man, up until he sprained his ankle against Houston and then the follow-up Zaza take out in the Warriors series, Kawhi was playing amazing basketball. He was playing high intensity defense and also was playing amazing on offense. There's no point in his career where he combined both defense and offense as well as that second half of the 2017 season & playoffs. I don't know if he was in pain in game 1 of the Warriors series (not sure if his ankle was still hurting and he tried to gut it out for the Spurs), but despite the sprained ankle he was still looking dominant. He was single handedly wrecking the Warriors' best team of all time in game 1. I still wonder/wish we could have seen if the Spurs could have knocked out probably the Warriors' strongest team of all time with the way not just Kawhi was playing, but all his teammates. Everyone was beginning to feed off of him and playing great up until he was taken out. It changed the whole dynamic of the team and series when he was out. The Spurs were firing on all cylinders up to that point. Danny Green, LaMarcus, all those guys were playing great off of him. David Lee was playing some of the most inspired basketball of his career (I really loved the way David played that season for the Spurs), Pau Gasol was still playing well too. I still hate the way it all finished up with the Spurs. That Warriors series was the ultimate "what if" series for me.

Anyone know what year did the original quad injury occurred? Does anyone remember? I seem to recall reading somewhere that Kawhi thinks they misdiagnosed it in a previous season. Not sure if it was 2017 or even the 2016 season. Either way, looks like the Spurs were right about it being chronic and him having to learn to play through it, but like Chinook said, I guess it's understandable that Kawhi at his age (was he 26 at the time?) didn't want to hear anything about that.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

1514979647339081729

:lol he wants out of Clipperland

[baseline bum]

Ahh where have you been the last 30 years or whatever it's been? People used to talk about the Clippers being cursed well before Kawhi showed up, so if you believe in any kind of curse, that was something said about them well before he got there. Not that I believe in it, I think it was mostly due to Sterling being a terrible and cheap ass owner that bought all that bad luck on himself, always letting players go and not wanting to pay anyone long term.


To be fair, technically the Clippers have 13 rings since the owner of the Celtics moved them to San Diego to become the Clippers in 1978 while the Buffalo Braves moved to Boston, and then the teams swapped rosters and staff.

[exstatic]

That condition would require the resting he has needed. Spurs wanted him to play through the pain and he wouldn’t have any of it, he wanted at the time to recover to 100%. It’s possible he won’t ever be exactly as he was b4 the injury though he’s still a great player when healthy, but no longer a DPOY candidate even when healthy, so you see his intensity is not the same.

I also remember reading a leak that he had calcification in the tendon… I remember that because the jokes at the time were that he was growing bones/teeth in the thigh.

There is never a 100% recovery from that condition. It not ‘possible’ that he will never be what he was before, it’s certain.

[John B]

Here’s an interesting story when Pop was asked about Timmy’s injury in the 78th game in 2000, in relation to Kawhi’s injury and Spurs conservative approach on resting their players. I think Kawhi’s would’ve been best treated by the Spurs had he trusted the Spurs:

https://www.ksat.com/sports/2018/01/24/popovich-reveals-interesting-tim-duncan-injury-tidbit-while-discussing-kawhi/

SAN ANTONIO – Lost in the hysteria about Kawhi Leonard’s injury status was an interesting revelation by Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich about Tim Duncan.
Popovich spoke to the media before Tuesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and discussed the Spurs conservative approach to Leonard’s treatment for his quadriceps tendinopathy.
Part of Popovich’s comments included an admission that Duncan could have played in the 2000 NBA Playoffs after he tore the lateral meniscus in his left knee in the 78th game of the season, but the head coach did not want to risk the future of the team’s franchise player.


"If we’re going to error, as we have in the past, we’re going to do it on the conservative side. We kept Timmy Duncan out of a playoff one year because of a knee and he could have played,” Popovich said. "So I don’t see this as anything different than we have done with any other player, but some people for some reason want to do that (and) that’s OK. But it doesn’t affect our team or me, or anybody else.”


With Duncan out of the lineup, the Spurs lost their first round series against the Phoenix Suns, 3-1.
The decision may have cost the Spurs a shot at winning back-to-back championships, but was also a catalyst for the Spurs dynasty, which included four more championships with Duncan.
Follow RJ on Twitter (https://twitter.com/ksatrj?lang=en)I Email: [email protected]
ESPN.com profiled the decision in a 2012 article (http://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2012/story/_/page/AdandeDuncan-120519/nba-playoffs-decision-rest-tim-duncan-2000-injury-pays-off). Popovich was quoted in the article saying, "He was young, a franchise player. He wasn't just a No. 1 pick. With him, you've got an opportunity to win multiple championships, if you don't screw it up. I didn't know if (the injury) could get worse, or get chronic."


As frustrating as it has been to see Leonard on the sideline this season, the Spurs have an established track record for allowing players to rest and recuperate as needed, especially when it comes to the health of the cornerstone of the franchise the way Duncan was for nearly two decades.

Copyright 2018 by KSAT - All rights reserved.


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[John B]

Who knows how more dominant Timmy could’ve been, winning back-to-back, but maybe a shortened career had he not listened to the Spurs. I guess two different scenarious with Timmy and Kawhi.

[exstatic]

Who knows how more dominant Timmy could’ve been, winning back-to-back, but maybe a shortened career had he not listened to the Spurs. I guess two different scenarious with Timmy and Kawhi.

You’re assuming they would have beaten the lakers. That was before everyone hated everyone on the team and front office, and when Shaq actually put forth effort.

[jjspur]

Who knows how more dominant Timmy could’ve been, winning back-to-back, but maybe a shortened career had he not listened to the Spurs. I guess two different scenarious with Timmy and Kawhi.
You're right , two different views on the same type of issue. As of now Timmy is the most important spur in franchise history and Kawhi is the most despised. Timmy got 5 rings in his career and helped Kawhi get half of his probably due in part to load management. The spurs used load management to extend Duncan's career and earn another championship. It seems Kawhi is using load management to expand his wallet. How many more rings will Kawhi get ? From this view probably none, especially if he keeps fleecing teams that only want to help him.

[Spurs Homer]

That condition would require the resting he has needed. Spurs wanted him to play through the pain and he wouldn’t have any of it, he wanted at the time to recover to 100%. It’s possible he won’t ever be exactly as he was b4 the injury though he’s still a great player when healthy, but no longer a DPOY candidate even when healthy, so you see his intensity is not the same.

I also remember reading a leak that he had calcification in the tendon… I remember that because the jokes at the time were that he was growing bones/teeth in the thigh.


i never heard - and dont believe
that the spurs EVER expected ANY player to play thru the pain

in fact

the pain was already gone but if pushed too hard would return (therefore the load mgmt)

kawhi just refused to follow the CORRECT medical protocol and instead sought QUACKS opinions whose diagnosis would align with his own wishes

[daslicer]

You’re assuming they would have beaten the lakers. That was before everyone hated everyone on the team and front office, and when Shaq actually put forth effort.

I think that year they would have beaten the Lakers. Spurs owned them during the regular season. Plus the Lakers had confidence issues to win in the big games. I don't see that Spurs team choking against them like the Blazers did. Also Kobe in '00 was not at the level he reached in '01 he was still about the same player he was in '99.

[daslicer]

You're right , two different views on the same type of issue. As of now Timmy is the most important spur in franchise history and Kawhi is the most despised. Timmy got 5 rings in his career and helped Kawhi get half of his probably due in part to load management. The spurs used load management to extend Duncan's career and earn another championship. It seems Kawhi is using load management to expand his wallet. How many more rings will Kawhi get ? From this view probably none, especially if he keeps fleecing teams that only want to help him.

He has about one more big contract left in which he can fleece some desperate team. He will be 33 when he's a FA. Some team like the Knicks will be desperate and will throw everything at him.

[exstatic]

He has about one more big contract left in which he can fleece some desperate team. He will be 33 when he's a FA. Some team like the Knicks will be desperate and will throw everything at him.

We’ll have to disagree on that. Seeing his latest ‘performance’, no team will max him out. He is ON his last max contract. If the Clips continue to underperform, he may actually get salary dumped. You can put together a first round out a lot cheaper than their current payroll. They actually had a nice thing going there before they caught Mute Cancer Fever.

[KingKev]

He has about one more big contract left in which he can fleece some desperate team. He will be 33 when he's a FA. Some team like the Knicks will be desperate and will throw everything at him.

He might be 34 when he is an FA. I could see him opting in on that 2024-25 player option given his injury history. One thing is for certain his best days are far behind him.

[SAGirl]

i never heard - and dont believe
that the spurs EVER expected ANY player to play thru the pain

in fact

the pain was already gone but if pushed too hard would return (therefore the load mgmt)

kawhi just refused to follow the CORRECT medical protocol and instead sought QUACKS opinions whose diagnosis would align with his own wishes
Theres pain with that condition. Maybe I didn’t express that correctly, but the condition causes pain in the muscle particularly after athletic activity, but sometimes in the morning and even sitting with legs stretched. It’s a chronic painful condition that is irreversible and needs to be managed.

That is what I meant by playing through pain. Look here at the symptoms: https://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/knee-pain/anterior-knee-pain/quadriceps-tendinopathy, Pain is most definitely a significant component.

Kawhi probably was in denial and struggled to accept such a devastating diagnosis for a pro athlete and started shopping for doctors who would give him a more favorable diagnosis/prognosis and promised to get him back to 100%, meaning there is no pain and no calcifications in his tendon, because what he has is something else that can be treated.

As it turned out, the Spurs were right that his condition would need to be managed and was irreversible. He has in fact needed rest games throughout the rest of his career from that point on.

A lot of fans at the time thought he was making this injury up and faking. I never believed that. He was recorded getting into a plane walking like an old man, and barely able to flex the leg while going up a set of stairs, and as Chinook mentioned, he’s lost so much playing time due to management of his condition, that he wouldn’t qualify for many league awards and accomplishments. Who knows what he could have accomplished were it not for that condition. He was on path to be recognized as league MVP, among other awards, had he remained healthy.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Management: "Time to get back on the court, Kawhi."

Autist: "UH ohhh... Time for Wheel of Fortune. Definitely time for Wheel of Fortune."


Kawhi is as big a head case as Ron Artest or Vernon Maxwell were. A player you can really count on - except when you can't.

Calling Kawhi an "autist" is an insult to people who are autistic. Autistic children/ people aren't divas. I wish folks avoid treating mental disorders as insults.

[Dex]

The longer this draws out, the better the Spurs look.

The popular narrative when Kawhi left was "Spurs messed up, pissed off their superstar, doctors were wrong, blah blah blah"

And yes, Kawhi went to Toronto and led what was already a very good, ECF-level team to a title. So everyone thought "man, Spurs really bungled that one"

BUT...Kawhi's name has also become synonymous with the term load management. He's averaged only 56 games in the last three seasons he has been "healthy", and has famously flamed out in the playoffs a couple times and now just sat out an entire season. Hell, even when he finished the title run in Toronto, it looked like he was running around on one leg.

The narrative seems to be turning around that maybe the Spurs doctors were on to something, and the FO was right for not trusting this dude to lead a franchise and make supermax money. And now it sounds like Kawhi and his crazy uncle are up to the same antics in Los Angeles. We heard all the same shit 4 years ago..."rushing him back, doctors misdiagnosed, etc etc". Good riddance.

[Ice009]

I think that year they would have beaten the Lakers. Spurs owned them during the regular season. Plus the Lakers had confidence issues to win in the big games. I don't see that Spurs team choking against them like the Blazers did. Also Kobe in '00 was not at the level he reached in '01 he was still about the same player he was in '99.

I thought the same thing back then. They got confidence after winning it all in 2000. It was also the Portland series too that helped with Portland letting them off the hook. Portland could have and probably should have won that series. As you probably recall, they had a big lead heading into the 4th quarter of game 7 and let the Lakers off the hook. Pretty stacked Portland team too. I feel bad for Rasheed. He really was a great player at his best, could have ended up with at least 2-3 more rings if things bounced his way.

I also think the 2015 Warriors might not have won either if they faced a healthy Spurs team (Steve Kerr mentioned after winning it all, he expected to have to go through the Spurs. I think the Spurs would have had a mental edge). Even if the Spurs got past the Clippers, I think they would have had trouble due to Tiago being injured and a hobbling TP. Who knows, maybe Kawhi steps up after the Clippers series and plays better the rest of the way. A fully healthy Spurs team, though, I would have given the advantage over the not yet won a ring Warriors.

[Ice009]

The longer this draws out, the better the Spurs look.

The popular narrative when Kawhi left was "Spurs messed up, pissed off their superstar, doctors were wrong, blah blah blah"

And yes, Kawhi went to Toronto and led what was already a very good, ECF-level team to a title. So everyone thought "man, Spurs really bungled that one"

BUT...Kawhi's name has also become synonymous with the term load management. He's averaged only 56 games in the last three seasons he has been "healthy", and has famously flamed out in the playoffs a couple times and now just sat out an entire season. Hell, even when he finished the title run in Toronto, it looked like he was running around on one leg.

The narrative seems to be turning around that maybe the Spurs doctors were on to something, and the FO was right for not trusting this dude to lead a franchise and make supermax money. And now it sounds like Kawhi and his crazy uncle are up to the same antics in Los Angeles. We heard all the same shit 4 years ago..."rushing him back, doctors misdiagnosed, etc etc". Good riddance.

I've got to ask, which two times did he flame out in the playoffs? In 2020, they choked the 3-1 to the Nuggets, but apart from that, the other two healthy-ish seasons (2019 & 2021), Kawhi won one ring and last season if he didn't get hurt, I think the Clippers could have won it all (I think they would have beaten the Suns and at least made the finals). Out of the last three seasons he's played, he might have been load managing throughout the season, but when he's played, he's been in pretty good form (up until the ACL injury that knocked him out of the playoffs last season and all of this season), so yeah, even though he's load managed, I don't recall ever seeing him play terrible during the time he did play. He also made his team a championship contender all three of those seasons (If the Clippers didn't choke the Nuggets series, they could have had a good chance to win it that year too. At worst, I would have given them a 50/50 chance against the Lakers).

[Dex]

I've got to ask, which two times did he flame out in the playoffs? In 2020, they choked the 3-1 to the Nuggets, but apart from that, the other two healthy-ish seasons (2019 & 2021), Kawhi won one ring and last season if he didn't get hurt, I think the Clippers could have won it all (I think they would have beaten the Suns and at least made the finals). Out of the last three seasons he's played, he might have been load managing throughout the season, but when he's played, he's been in pretty good form (up until the ACL injury that knocked him out of the playoffs last season and all of this season), so yeah, even though he's load managed, I don't recall ever seeing him play terrible during the time he did play. He also made his team a championship contender all three of those seasons (If the Clippers didn't choke the Nuggets series, they could have had a good chance to win it that year too. At worst, I would have given them a 50/50 chance against the Lakers).

It's probably not fair and I think we all agree injuries suck, BUT...with his history of injuries, I guess I consider him going down in last season's playoffs kinda "flaming out". So, 2020 and 2021.

It seemed like a freak accident that happened with minimal contact, but these are all things that could be related to his repeated leg and health issues.

I agree that when Kawhi is HEALTHY and on the floor, he is still a beast. The problem is...it's getting harder and harder to actually rely on that being the case. It will be interesting to see what he looks like after an ACL rehab, but I don't expect him to come back BETTER.

And again...his off-court demands and demeanor are just off-putting. We can all agree that guy has a hard time staying healthy. He plays partial seasons, gets hurt, and then gets mad at team doctors for calling it like it is. It's bullshit, tbh

[Dverde]

Funny that Clippers fan finding out how bullshity Nephew is while Bulls fan realize how Demar sucks in playoff games…

[rjv]

who the hell is this kawhi leonard fella?

[Ice009]

It's probably not fair and I think we all agree injuries suck, BUT...with his history of injuries, I guess I consider him going down in last season's playoffs kinda "flaming out". So, 2020 and 2021.

It seemed like a freak accident that happened with minimal contact, but these are all things that could be related to his repeated leg and health issues.

I agree that when Kawhi is HEALTHY and on the floor, he is still a beast. The problem is...it's getting harder and harder to actually rely on that being the case. It will be interesting to see what he looks like after an ACL rehab, but I don't expect him to come back BETTER.

And again...his off-court demands and demeanor are just off-putting. We can all agree that guy has a hard time staying healthy. He plays partial seasons, gets hurt, and then gets mad at team doctors for calling it like it is. It's bullshit, tbh

I agree with all that you've said, as yeah, the ACL injury could have been due to his leg issues, but it also could have been a freak thing. Hard to say, but I definitely won't disagree with what you said as that is very possible.

I just wanted to point out to people that even though he's done all this load management stuff the past 3 seasons he's played, his teams have been championship contenders and Kawhi has been pretty darn good in the games he's played. Also, he's been great the past few playoffs averaging 30.5ppg in 2019, 28.4 in 2020 and 30.4 in 2021 (His worst series was the Denver series where he still averaged 24.3ppg, just 0.1ppg away from Jokic being the top scorer of the series. He did have some bad games in the series, but also, the Nuggets played great team ball those last three games to eliminate the Clippers), but apart from the Denver series, those playoff numbers the past three years would be considered elite for most players.

[buttsR4rebounding]

All Kawhi needs to do to secure another max contract is have a really good playoff series in the 3rd or 4th year of his current contract. If it's in the 3rd year he'll opt out of the final year. Then someone will roll the dice with a max contract.

[JPB]

who the hell is this kawhi leonard fella?

Some guy with big hands who used to roam around the AT&T Center.

[Dex]

Some guy with big hands who used to limp around the AT&T Center.

Fixed it for you

[baseline bum]

You’re assuming they would have beaten the lakers. That was before everyone hated everyone on the team and front office, and when Shaq actually put forth effort.

And then Portland would have been a horrible matchup in the WCF if they beat LA, especially with no Sean and the rule changes that neutered Mario Elie's defense and basically ended his career.

[daslicer]

And then Portland would have been a horrible matchup in the WCF if they beat LA, especially with no Sean and the rule changes that neutered Mario Elie's defense and basically ended his career.

Spurs had Sean during the '00 playoffs.

[exstatic]

Spurs had Sean during the '00 playoffs.

For 4 games, which is how long we lasted.

[baseline bum]

Spurs had Sean during the '00 playoffs.

A shell of Sean. It's like saying the Spurs had Johnny Moore in the 90 playoffs.

[Slippy]

All Kawhi needs to do to secure another max contract is have a really good playoff series in the 3rd or 4th year of his current contract. If it's in the 3rd year he'll opt out of the final year. Then someone will roll the dice with a max contract.

Yap.. he resting for that moment . Haha

For all his faults uncle will have his best interests.

[Maddog]

And then Portland would have been a horrible matchup in the WCF if they beat LA, especially with no Sean and the rule changes that neutered Mario Elie's defense and basically ended his career.

As awesome as the 99 team was it wasn't built for long term.
In 2000. Elie was 36, Sean was 31 and played in 99 with declining renal function. Avery 34
As you said rule changes eliminated Elie's defense as well as Jaren Jacksons

Even with Tim I didn't see them getting into the finals

Back to Nephew-
It's really amazing how close the Spurs came to having greatly exceeded their already remarkable run of 50+ wins. In addition I'm not sure a team has ever been that relevant for that length of time (I define relevance as making the conference finals)
99 to 17 10 conference finals 5 rings.


It's also amazing how lucky nephew has been. Drafted by a team with veteran leadership and allowed to develop (with great coaching). It's hard to see him becoming the player he is on another team.
Traded to Toronto (another team with veteran leadership) and yes he had an incredible playoff run and all title teams with occasional exception are lucky- but that Toronto team really caught a lot of breaks.
A couple of bounces being down 3-0 to the Bucks. Beating the Sixers with a very limited Embiid and then meeting a injury riddled Warrior team in the finals.

However at the end of the day the Spurs got a title out of him and some good resources (you never get equal value for a superstar). Just think how many stars have left small markets and the team gets nothing in return- and never got a title.

[MultiTroll]

However at the end of the day the Spurs got a title out of him and some good resources (you never get equal value for a superstar). Just think how many stars have left small markets and the team gets nothing in return- and never got a title.
Heartbreaking how many things changed with Zaza.
Would the Spurs have Champed in 2017? Yes imo. Don't feed me any b.s. about the *great and powerful Twinky Warriors.*

Thus would all have been well between Nephew and Spurs? I think so.
His tendon would have probably given out regardless but we would have had another shot as Toronto did in 19.

Clippers 20 as much as Nephew failed, the real moron moves imo were Balmer hiring known choker Doc Rivers and the asinine move to acquire Playoff Pee. Surely some FA stars would have been very interested in LA with Nephew and the younger good players they had. I know it sounds like it was Nephew and Uncle who insisted on Playoff Pee. Ha ha reap what you sowed.

Spurs with Nephew in 17, 18, 19, 20 i think keep up the 50 wins and at least one Champ in 17.

[exstatic]

Heartbreaking how many things changed with Zaza.
Would the Spurs have Champed in 2017? Yes imo. Don't feed me any b.s. about the *great and powerful Twinky Warriors.*

Thus would all have been well between Nephew and Spurs? I think so.
His tendon would have probably given out regardless but we would have had another shot as Toronto did in 19.

Clippers 20 as much as Nephew failed, the real moron moves imo were Balmer hiring known choker Doc Rivers and the asinine move to acquire Playoff Pee. Surely some FA stars would have been very interested in LA with Nephew and the younger good players they had. I know it sounds like it was Nephew and Uncle who insisted on Playoff Pee. Ha ha reap what you sowed.

Spurs with Nephew in 17, 18, 19, 20 i think keep up the 50 wins and at least one Champ in 17.

They got Paul George because Kawhi demanded it as a condition of signing with them. I also don’t think a hypothetical chip in 17 moves the needle. He walked away from a near lock of a repeat in Toronto. He and his family are just awful. Some of us saw it in 2017-2018, and some are just seeing it now with the Clippers re-run.

[KingKev]

Spurs had Sean during the '00 playoffs.

Less than a year removed from a kidney transplant.

[Ariel]

https://hoopshype.com/2022/04/20/clippers-wont-say-if-kawhi-leonard-will-be-ready-for-opening-night-next-season/

Clippers won't say if Kawhi Leonard will be ready for opening night next season

[timtonymanu]

:lol Such good karma. Nephew, for being how he is, is basically just fighting to stay healthy for one game at this point.

Plus the Nail Clippers, with all that bullshit tampering they did and still being a winless franchise. Fuck them all, tbh.

[Robz4000]

https://hoopshype.com/2022/04/20/clippers-wont-say-if-kawhi-leonard-will-be-ready-for-opening-night-next-season/

:rollin

[spurs1990]

Who's to say Leonard's camp won't peg San Antonio's 'mistreatment' as the birth of his current ailments. That accounting could stick, no matter how big a yarn it is

[the golden era]

https://hoopshype.com/2022/04/20/clippers-wont-say-if-kawhi-leonard-will-be-ready-for-opening-night-next-season/
That twitter thread is hilarious. Just falling over themselves to paint Nephew as a positive teammate and asset to the team. LMFAO, dude’s only contribution to a team is when he is on the court, that’s it. Especially funny when Frank talks about him being locked in on his rehab, there have been multiple reports of him freezing out the team and media during his rehab, just like he did in the past. How the hell would Frank know anything about him being locked in unless he literally meant locked in a room by himself. What a shit show, they probably deserve this getting in bed with neph and uncle.

[Dex]

Who's to say Leonard's camp won't peg San Antonio's 'mistreatment' as the birth of his current ailments. That accounting could stick, no matter how big a yarn it is

Recency bias...no one will give a shit at this point.

Also, Kawhi went on to win a championship title in Toronto and had another decent run in L.A. before they choked it away in the bubble...oh, also while only playing like half seasons.

That's like saying I still have foot problems because I stubbed my toe when I was 12. Anybody stupid enough to believe it is not an opinion worth valuing.

[widowmaker]

Who's to say Leonard's camp won't peg San Antonio's 'mistreatment' as the birth of his current ailments. That accounting could stick, no matter how big a yarn it is

Hopefully he’s the only one that gets pegged.

[K...]

1517211264941969409

He moved to LA to get the best sponsorships. Whats spookier than the leg that never heals driving the human insane

[exstatic]

1517211264941969409

He moved to LA to get the best sponsorships. Whats spookier than the leg that never heals driving the human insane

WTF? NB didn’t even want him anymore?

[MannyIsGod]

WTF? NB didn’t even want him anymore?

Uh, do you not see the two NB logos there?

Its a collab shoe.

[T Park]

Who's to say Leonard's camp won't peg San Antonio's 'mistreatment' as the birth of his current ailments. That accounting could stick, no matter how big a yarn it is

That narrative is quickly dying thanks to his exploits in LA. Guys like Kevin O’Conner etc when they comment on the situation, you can read between the lines now of what they say.

[exstatic]

Uh, do you not see the two NB logos there?

Its a collab shoe.

Sorry, the green slime kind of visually drowns it out.

[duncan2k5]

Don't know who that reporter is. It wouldn't be surprising if the Clips were annoyed with Leonard, but I also would assume they gave him that new contract fully understanding he wouldn't be available this season. Feels like a reporter throwing shit against the wall that seems plausible and hoping it'll stick

This

[XDT76]

Did Clippers or Kawhi come out to deny this?

[Dex]

Did Clippers or Kawhi come out to deny this?

Clippers are probably the ones who are leaking it, and Nephew is a mute so....

[8FOR!3]

We got a glimpse of how his career could have gone. But with the choices he made and how he handled everything I really don't feel sorry for him.

[RC_Drunkford]

https://hoopshype.com/2022/04/20/clippers-wont-say-if-kawhi-leonard-will-be-ready-for-opening-night-next-season/

:lmao

[KobesAchilles]

I know the Clippers won't trade Kawhi and I know they probably should give it one more year, especially with the west not really having a dominant team. But they should think about trading him. And honestly they should trade him this summer. If I am a sports bettor, do I wager money on the Clippers to win the championship next year? I don't think I do. They might. They might win the west next year with a healthy duo of Kawhi and PG13. But man this would be the summer to trade Kawhi bc you could get a ransom for him. You wait a year and he gets hurt again or underperforms, you're not going to get as much for him.

Sidenote: if I were Durant, I would do everything I can to get to Dallas. I don't know how he could do it, but that ship is about to sink fast. He needs to tie his legacy to Luka, an unproven rising star, and try to reach the mountaintop again that way. The west is weak right now. And Brooklyn is being run by Kyrie fucking Irving. Abandon ship KD

[The Truth #6]

I'm also ok with everyone staying where they are and dealing with their rotten choices. Ha.

[Brazil]

This

oh look kawi white knight

remember dat dude defending his hero on every other thread

good times :lol

[Dex]

I know the Clippers won't trade Kawhi and I know they probably should give it one more year, especially with the west not really having a dominant team. But they should think about trading him. And honestly they should trade him this summer. If I am a sports bettor, do I wager money on the Clippers to win the championship next year? I don't think I do. They might. They might win the west next year with a healthy duo of Kawhi and PG13. But man this would be the summer to trade Kawhi bc you could get a ransom for him. You wait a year and he gets hurt again or underperforms, you're not going to get as much for him.

Sidenote: if I were Durant, I would do everything I can to get to Dallas. I don't know how he could do it, but that ship is about to sink fast. He needs to tie his legacy to Luka, an unproven rising star, and try to reach the mountaintop again that way. The west is weak right now. And Brooklyn is being run by Kyrie fucking Irving. Abandon ship KD

It would be the ultimate karma for Kawhi to force his way to LA only to get traded to a treadmill team.

[KingKev]

It would be the ultimate karma for Kawhi to force his way to LA only to get traded to a treadmill team.

I’m sure the Clippers are full focused on getting that roster ready for a run next year. Get the PG/Leonard duo healthy for next years playoffs are you have a strong chance at a chip.

[exstatic]

I’m sure the Clippers are full focused on getting that roster ready for a run next year. Get the PG/Leonard duo healthy for next years playoffs are you have a strong chance at a chip.

Other than recovering from his knee surgery, Kawhi will never truly be healthy again.

[KingKev]

Other than recovering from his knee surgery, Kawhi will never truly be healthy again.

Kawhi at 75% prime and a healthy PG is as good as any tandem in the NBA.

[John B]

Kawhi at 75% prime and a healthy PG is as good as any tandem in the NBA.

That is if he can stay on the court. But he’s shown time again that he will sit if he doesn’t feel well, regardless what’s at staked. The guy will not play through pain.

[exstatic]

Kawhi at 75% prime and a healthy PG is as good as any tandem in the NBA.

He's now got a rotting quad AND a surgically repaired knee, and he'll be 31 at the beginning of his ACL recovery season, so, probably 32 before he gets back to 2021 pre-injury health.

[TD 21]

^ That and why is it just assumed by all the Scumbag ass kissers that he'll 1) Immediately, if ever, regain previous form and that 2) George and him, 32 and 31 (33 and close to 32 during the '23 playoffs) won't suffer age related decline even if he does? Most of their supporting cast is on the precipice too.

I get that their style of play is more predicated on size/strength/shooting than athleticism, so there's no reason to expect them to go off a cliff, but even the type of decline Davis has experienced in the past two years (MVP candidate to All-Star) would be enough to drop their ceiling.

Antetokounmpo, Jokic, Embiid, etc. aren't going anywhere and Doncic, Tatum, Morant, etc. will only get better.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Kawhi at 75% prime and a healthy PG is as good as any tandem in the NBA.

75% prime might be a reach at this point. The league is getting filled with better, more mobile athletes at Kawhi's position. Even when he was playing last year he appeared to not have the lift, speed or mobility he used to have. He relied a lot on court savvy and bulling through guys and getting the superstar treatment from the refs.

I think the game is going to pass him by and we won't see the "prime" Kawhi again.

[Ice009]

75% prime might be a reach at this point. The league is getting filled with better, more mobile athletes at Kawhi's position. Even when he was playing last year he appeared to not have the lift, speed or mobility he used to have. He relied a lot on court savvy and bulling through guys and getting the superstar treatment from the refs.

I think the game is going to pass him by and we won't see the "prime" Kawhi again.

Well, last year's Kawhi was dominating in the playoffs and they had a good chance to win it all if he didn't tear his ACL. I think he averaged 30.4ppg for last year's playoffs. That's better than most healthy players are doing right now in the playoffs. If that's just from court savvy, and I knew he'd be healthy, I'd still take him over most players currently playing.

[KobesAchilles]

I know you have to give it a shot with both of them next year. Who knows, maybe they will win the title. But if Kawhi gets hurt again or the flame out in the second round, it will be hard to get that value that you could get right now. At this very moment, Kawhis reputation is at an all time high and you could get a boatload for him. Next year if they lose or he gets hurt, it’s not the same. It’s a gamble either way. But I would trade him rn.

[KingKev]

I know you have to give it a shot with both of them next year. Who knows, maybe they will win the title. But if Kawhi gets hurt again or the flame out in the second round, it will be hard to get that value that you could get right now. At this very moment, Kawhis reputation is at an all time high and you could get a boatload for him. Next year if they lose or he gets hurt, it’s not the same. It’s a gamble either way. But I would trade him rn.

He’d probably have to okay it. I bet he has a no trade clause.

[mo7888]

He’s pribably have to okay if. I bet he has a no trade clause.

I don't believe he does. You have to have been with your current team for 4 seasons to be eligible for a no trade clause.

[KingKev]

I don't believe he does. You have to have been with your current team for 4 seasons to be eligible for a no trade clause.

I didn’t know that. Thanks.

[wildbill2u]

Kwahi can come back next year, and barring further injuries, his body and BB savvy can carry him to All-star status again. But I doubt he will be the Superstar he once was. Age happens to us all. But if he tweaks something again and chooses to sit out a bunch of games then his day in the sun has set.

You have to wonder where his place in the pantheon of NBA stars will be when he retires. I don't think he will be as idolized by fans as much as Superstars like Kobe and Shaq or many others. Who is passionate about this guy?

[RC_Drunkford]

I don't see the Clippers winning anything. They have a load of wings, but are too weak at the 5 and 1 spots

[Maddog]

Kwahi can come back next year, and barring further injuries, his body and BB savvy can carry him to All-star status again. But I doubt he will be the Superstar he once was. Age happens to us all. But if he tweaks something again and chooses to sit out a bunch of games then his day in the sun has set.

You have to wonder where his place in the pantheon of NBA stars will be when he retires. I don't think he will be as idolized by fans as much as Superstars like Kobe and Shaq or many others. Who is passionate about this guy?

Well probably no one. He just doesn't have that personality. In all honesty the Spurs did a good job of marketing, albeit locally.
One of the oddest careers.

[baseline bum]

I know you have to give it a shot with both of them next year. Who knows, maybe they will win the title. But if Kawhi gets hurt again or the flame out in the second round, it will be hard to get that value that you could get right now. At this very moment, Kawhis reputation is at an all time high and you could get a boatload for him. Next year if they lose or he gets hurt, it’s not the same. It’s a gamble either way. But I would trade him rn.

If I'm a GM and I get a call from the Clippers offering Leonard I'm thinking that knee is about to gangrene and fall off tbh. I don't think he'd have nearly as much trade value this summer as he would next if he can play through a season even if they do flame out in the second round.

[diego]

Kwahi can come back next year, and barring further injuries, his body and BB savvy can carry him to All-star status again. But I doubt he will be the Superstar he once was. Age happens to us all. But if he tweaks something again and chooses to sit out a bunch of games then his day in the sun has set.

You have to wonder where his place in the pantheon of NBA stars will be when he retires. I don't think he will be as idolized by fans as much as Superstars like Kobe and Shaq or many others. Who is passionate about this guy?

yet he made top 75, people just see 2 fmvp and remember his run with toronto which is still fresh, dont know how long that will last.. right now though he is comically overrated for 2 good seasons, nobody remembers his failures like they do for lebron, curry, kd, etc..his already low minutes are trending down ever since 2017. i think all in all spurs dodged a bullet

[Maddog]

Heartbreaking how many things changed with Zaza.
Would the Spurs have Champed in 2017? Yes imo. Don't feed me any b.s. about the *great and powerful Twinky Warriors.*

Thus would all have been well between Nephew and Spurs? I think so.
His tendon would have probably given out regardless but we would have had another shot as Toronto did in 19.

Clippers 20 as much as Nephew failed, the real moron moves imo were Balmer hiring known choker Doc Rivers and the asinine move to acquire Playoff Pee. Surely some FA stars would have been very interested in LA with Nephew and the younger good players they had. I know it sounds like it was Nephew and Uncle who insisted on Playoff Pee. Ha ha reap what you sowed.

Spurs with Nephew in 17, 18, 19, 20 i think keep up the 50 wins and at least one Champ in 17.


yet he made top 75, people just see 2 fmvp and remember his run with toronto which is still fresh, dont know how long that will last.. right now though he is comically overrated for 2 good seasons, nobody remembers his failures like they do for lebron, curry, kd, etc..his already low minutes are trending down ever since 2017. i think all in all spurs dodged a bullet

They got a title then got KJ, Jakob and draft picks. Given how other stars have left small market teams not bad.
Give him credit for a great playoff run in Toronto, but as I said before that Toronto team might have been one of the luckiest champs ever.

[Ice009]

yet he made top 75, people just see 2 fmvp and remember his run with toronto which is still fresh, dont know how long that will last.. right now though he is comically overrated for 2 good seasons, nobody remembers his failures like they do for lebron, curry, kd, etc..his already low minutes are trending down ever since 2017. i think all in all spurs dodged a bullet

I mean, I can't disagree with all that you've said. Depends when the issue first started happening and if the quad injury could have been avoided he still might have be with the Spurs right now. I wonder if the ankle injury in the 2017 playoffs caused him to overcompensate, or other injuries he played with while of the Spurs prior to that caused him to overcompensate on that leg/quad, or if he simply worked out too hard and screwed his quad up by overworking himself (he definitely was a gym rat in his time with the Spurs and before the Spurs, not sure if he still worked that hard with other teams, though). I still wonder if he worked with Tim Grover (Jordan and D-Wade's former trainer) if it would have made a difference, as he was supposed to work with him after either the 2013 or 2014 finals. I remember reading that Kawhi sought him out after one of the finals games in the crowd and told him he wanted to work with him in the off-season, but never ended up doing so. Although Grover was known for pushing him clients, I still wonder if it would have made a difference working with someone like that could have changed the way Kawhi did things physically and preserved his leg longer.

Having said all that, you may be right about dodging the bullet (time will tell as he still might get right physically and be highly productive for a while longer), we still simply didn't get a good enough return for him.

[exstatic]

I mean, I can't disagree with all that you've said. Depends when the issue first started happening and if the quad injury could have been avoided he still might have be with the Spurs right now. I wonder if the ankle injury in the 2017 playoffs caused him to overcompensate, or other injuries he played with while of the Spurs prior to that caused him to overcompensate on that leg/quad, or if he simply worked out too hard and screwed his quad up by overworking himself (he definitely was a gym rat in his time with the Spurs and before the Spurs, not sure if he still worked that hard with other teams, though). I still wonder if he worked with Tim Grover (Jordan and D-Wade's former trainer) if it would have made a difference, as he was supposed to work with him after either the 2013 or 2014 finals. I remember reading that Kawhi sought him out after one of the finals games in the crowd and told him he wanted to work with him in the off-season, but never ended up doing so. Although Grover was known for pushing him clients, I still wonder if it would have made a difference working with someone like that could have changed the way Kawhi did things physically and preserved his leg longer.

Having said all that, you may be right about dodging the bullet (time will tell as he still might get right physically and be highly productive for a while longer), we still simply didn't get a good enough return for him.

His quad injury goes back much further than the ankle issue in 2017.

The return for him isn’t finalized, as we keep flipping assets for more. Right now, the furthest current asset is the CHI FRP and SRP in 2025. We could get more if Poeltl and/or Keldon get moved.

[OldMan88]

I wonder if Leonard has reached the NBA record for “Most salary collected while sitting on his a$$ while injured” yet. If not, he’s got to be close.

[JR3]

I wonder if Leonard has reached the NBA record for “Most salary collected while sitting on his a$$ while injured” yet. If not, he’s got to be close.
He has to have that in the bag…. No pun intended.

[Maddog]

I wonder if Leonard has reached the NBA record for “Most salary collected while sitting on his a$$ while injured” yet. If not, he’s got to be close.

Last 5 years he's averaged 35 games per year and made a 148 million
Gordon hayward has to up there as well

[BackHome]

So KY still can’t Wipe His Ass - I know we still got some homers who were all about being on his help wipe his ass team

[Ice009]

Kawhi's scoring average the past 3 playoffs he's played his has been elite, though. He played better than most of the best players are doing right now (I think it's something like 30.8. 28.4, 30.4ppg). He had the freak injury last playoffs when he was playing amazing and Clippers looking like a Championship team. We'll see how he goes when he comes back. All I am saying is, if he's washed up like people are saying and relying on savvy over athleticism right now, his numbers in the playoffs have still been amazing, and I'd take that so called washed up/relying on savvy game over most current players if he is healthy.

For example, take a look at Giannis is tonight's game. Although he was amazing, you can see he's still lacking some skills deep in the 4th quarter to get his own shot when he can't drive and bully his way to the rim (for the record, I like the attacking the rim style of play rather than settling for jumpers, but that's not always available). His three point shot isn't there and his midrange shot creating wasn't there deep in the 4th (props for hitting his free throws, though, as this is another area Kawhi excels at and Giannis sometimes struggles with). That's three areas Kawhi excels at over Giannis (3pt shooting, creating his own shot from the block when the lane isn't open, and free throw shooting are huge in close 4th quarter playoff games). Giannis is relying on his athleticism a lot more than Kawhi. having said that, Giannis will most likely still improve in those areas. Hopefully he even does so this very next game and the Bucks can win it.

Having said that, given those slight deficiencies, I'd still rate Giannis the better player if they're both healthy because he's also playing hard on the defensive end, whereas Kawhi has dropped off majorly on defense. Kawhi's best two way year was 2017 with the Spurs where he played insane defense and offense was also great. He never played that level of defense since the 2017 season/playoffs.

[exstatic]

I think there’s an unspoken built in assumption from a lot of you that he will be the same player 19 months later., post ACL.

[bluebellmaniac]

Derrick Rose made a fortune recovering from injuries.

[exstatic]

Derrick Rose made a fortune recovering from injuries.

Derrick Rose was 23 when he had his major injury. Kawhi was 29. NY made an incredibly dumb call to sign Rose to a 3 year deal last summer, but then again, I wasn’t talking about money, I was talking about return to a level of play. Derrick never really did.

[BackHome]

Yeah KY was all ready not playing back to back before injury I can only imagine how many games he is going to miss every season due to him hurting

[Ice009]

Yeah KY was all ready not playing back to back before injury I can only imagine how many games he is going to miss every season due to him hurting

This thing is, that you guys are sort of missing is that when Kawhi does play, his level of play has still been great/elite. Derrick Rose was mentioned above, and that is a good comparison as Derrick's level of play was never the same. So even if Kawhi is missing/sitting out games, I don't think you can say he's washed until his actual level of play drops. He was dominating the last playoffs he was in at 30.4ppg and playing better by the game. Derrick Rose never got anywhere near that level of play after his injuries. Kawhi's been near the best player in the last three playoffs he's played in (at worst in the top 3 players of the whole playoffs IMO).

[Dex]

Derrick Rose was 23 when he had his major injury. Kawhi was 29. NY made an incredibly dumb call to sign Rose to a 3 year deal last summer, but then again, I wasn’t talking about money, I was talking about return to a level of play. Derrick never really did.

Derrick returned to still be a very good basketball player, but yeah he never really got close to his MVP peak and now is only good for like 30 games a season.

Not saying I'm hoping the same for Kawhi because I don't want to wish injury on anybody....but it would be karma doing its work and he can eat a bag of dicks.

[exstatic]

This thing is, that you guys are sort of missing is that when Kawhi does play, his level of play has still been great/elite. Derrick Rose was mentioned above, and that is a good comparison as Derrick's level of play was never the same. So even if Kawhi is missing/sitting out games, I don't think you can say he's washed until his actual level of play drops. He was dominating the last playoffs he was in at 30.4ppg and playing better by the game. Derrick Rose never got anywhere near that level of play after his injuries. Kawhi's been near the best player in the last three playoffs he's played in (at worst in the top 3 players of the whole playoffs IMO).

And right there is that assumption I was talking about, that the ACL will have no effect on him.

[Ice009]

And right there is that assumption I was talking about, that the ACL will have no effect on him.

Understood, but what I am saying is that we haven't seen him washed up yet. You can't make that claim until after we see how he responds, but I am going to say that if his body doesn't totally crap out, he'll come back pretty decently due to how hard of a worker he is. Knowing the way he worked during with his time with the Spurs, he wouldn't be taking any shortcuts in his rehab, so IMO there is a higher chance of him coming back at or close to his previous level.

[BackHome]

This thing is, that you guys are sort of missing is that when Kawhi does play, his level of play has still been great/elite. Derrick Rose was mentioned above, and that is a good comparison as Derrick's level of play was never the same. So even if Kawhi is missing/sitting out games, I don't think you can say he's washed until his actual level of play drops. He was dominating the last playoffs he was in at 30.4ppg and playing better by the game. Derrick Rose never got anywhere near that level of play after his injuries. Kawhi's been near the best player in the last three playoffs he's played in (at worst in the top 3 players of the whole playoffs IMO).

KY is like Paul with the Suns great when he plays but when playoff start his body won’t hold up to the more physical and intense play. With his degenerate quad to go with his ACL tear he will never be the same player and will not be as good as he was last year.

[DAF86]

What a bitch this guy ended up being. He had us all fooled.

[exstatic]

Understood, but what I am saying is that we haven't seen him washed up yet. You can't make that claim until after we see how he responds, but I am going to say that if his body doesn't totally crap out, he'll come back pretty decently due to how hard of a worker he is. Knowing the way he worked during with his time with the Spurs, he wouldn't be taking any shortcuts in his rehab, so IMO there is a higher chance of him coming back at or close to his previous level.
I’m not even sure which ACL he tore. I’m not even sure if it matters. If it’s the same leg as his quad, he’ll barely get lift this year. If its the other one, he’ll no longer have a strong dominant leg to crutch on.

[offset formation]

I’m not even sure which ACL he tore. I’m not even sure if it matters. If it’s the same leg as his quad, he’ll barely get lift this year. If its the other one, he’ll no longer have a strong dominant leg to crutch on.

He's so crafty and his handles in traffic are elite. But if he doesn't have that explosiveness, then his threat potential offensively is diminished. And he's no longer the two-way player that terrorized PGs (and Demar). And that makes me happy, cause fuck neph. Always.

[Ice009]

KY is like Paul with the Suns great when he plays but when playoff start his body won’t hold up to the more physical and intense play. With his degenerate quad to go with his ACL tear he will never be the same player and will not be as good as he was last year.

Kawhi is nothing like Chris Paul. For a start, as I mentioned before (this isn't directed to anyone in particular), I don't see that vegan diet working out too well for Chris Paul long-term. If you're coming from an average diet, it usually works for a year or two and then you crash down cause it's too devoid of nutrients (Tom Brady is pretty smart with his diet, but he also doesn't play the most demanding position in football, so I can't for sure say his diet is the whole reason for his longevity, but I think it is a huge part. Brady isn't also fully vegan. He still eats good quality meat and avoids plants that are high in lectins. Not sure if Chris Paul is/was doing the same in regard to the plants he eats).

Anyway, diet aside, when Kawhi plays in the playoffs, he dominates. He's been either the best player in the playoffs (2019), or top 3 (2020), or top 2 (2021) in the last three playoffs he's played in. I'd say he was playing better than Giannis up to the point he got hurt (his efficiency was off the charts in his last playoffs). It was a freak injury (was it due to overcompensation, I don't know), but we'll see how he comes back from it. He certainly wasn't washed up before that injury as his efficiency was off the hook during the playoffs until his injury. Until he doesn't perform when he comes back, can't say he's washed up yet is all I'm saying. Chris Paul usually gets injured, or worn down or whatever, and then just doesn't perform. It's not the same comparison IMO.

[Big Empty]

31 next month, an entire year off. He gots 3-4 possible good years in him left at best if he can comeback from all of this. Im happy when he loses and hope he never wins another title.

[MultiTroll]

Understood, but what I am saying is that we haven't seen him washed up yet. You can't make that claim until after we see how he responds, but I am going to say that if his body doesn't totally crap out, he'll come back pretty decently due to how hard of a worker he is. Knowing the way he worked during with his time with the Spurs, he wouldn't be taking any shortcuts in his rehab, so IMO there is a higher chance of him coming back at or close to his previous level.
Might make a good, albeit expensive 6th man.
The way NBA owners waste money some one will pay it.

Think that is the only way he's going to last. I agree he could still contribute.
But like the other will she zero tears if he flops and costs the Clippers more.
To me the entire NBA landscape was changed when Zaza assaulted.

[Ice009]

Yeah, tough to say until he comes back and we see how he looks, and more importantly, if he can stay healthy this time.

[SAGirl]

Yeah, tough to say until he comes back and we see how he looks, and more importantly, if he can stay healthy this time.
For some reason this reminded me of CP3. Kawhi is younger but I think because of his chronic injuries, he may be reaching that level where he can be fantastic for a series or two before it all comes crashing down with some injury or another.

[lefty20]

For some reason this reminded me of CP3. Kawhi is younger but I think because of his chronic injuries, he may be reaching that level where he can be fantastic for a series or two before it all comes crashing down with some injury or another.

This is my take as well.

Nephew looked like a God until the 2nd half of games 6 & 7 against the Nuggets couple years back. Then all of a sudden his legs were ready for some load management at that point. Remember, he was also showing signs of wear and tear in the Finals against the Dubs the year before.

My prediction is that he'll load manage his way into the playoffs with good health. There he will initially ball out and look like the best player in the league in the first round. And then proceed to physically flame out in either conference semis/finals.

[Ice009]

This is my take as well.

Nephew looked like a God until the 2nd half of games 6 & 7 against the Nuggets couple years back. Then all of a sudden his legs were ready for some load management at that point. Remember, he was also showing signs of wear and tear in the Finals against the Dubs the year before.

My prediction is that he'll load manage his way into the playoffs with good health. There he will initially ball out and look like the best player in the league in the first round. And then proceed to physically flame out in either conference semis/finals.

You have a good take on the Nuggets series as it appeared he slowed down a bit. However, last season he was playing amazing up until the injury. It didn't look like he was slowing down at all. It looked like he was going to have one of the most efficient playoffs in NBA history up until then. The looking tired thing could be due to load management. I've from the Tim Grover school, where I think you need the conditioning, and if you don't get it during the regular season, how do you expect to push through fatigue in the playoffs? You're not conditioned for it. I am guessing Kawhi doesn't think much of that approach and thinks resting is going to help him to play better down the stretch. i just wonder if he needs it because he physically can't perform, or if it's mental where he thinks he needs the rest. I don't believe in resting if you're physically able to go. For example, in a back to back, you can just play less minutes.

[MannyIsGod]

For some reason this reminded me of CP3. Kawhi is younger but I think because of his chronic injuries, he may be reaching that level where he can be fantastic for a series or two before it all comes crashing down with some injury or another.

This is probably a good comparison.