Kawhi’s Sister Says He is Still Hurt; Kawhi’s Mom Was in Attendance Yesterday

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Yall are stupid for talking about Kawhi’s mom and sister’s appearance. Just dumb .

Childish, really.

[Ice009]

At people still making definitive declarations.

Unless he requests a trade after whatever discussions inevitably take place or after doing inevitable due diligence, they're not satisfied medically, why wouldn't they offer the super max (with protections)? The likely alternative is getting on the treadmill of mediocrity.

They don't have to offer it on July 1st. As long as they're on the same page by then, they can slow play this, similar to the Aldridge situation. Get him back around the team in open gym, through training camp and into a few preseason games. If all systems are a go, offer it then.

When is the cutoff point for them being able to offer the Supermax? Can they offer it all the way up until just before the season starts? I don't think Kawhi would be too happy with that, though. If they waited that long, he could ask out before then.

I would trade him for a number of players.

People forget how awful he was against the Clippers and Thunder. in 15 and 16

I didn't. I was all over him after the Clippers series for not being mentally strong and fading in those last few games, but I let it go because the second half of the season was the first time he was asked to be "the man."

I was also upset with him in the Thunder series. I can't remember if it was game 2 or game 5, but at the end of one of those games that the Spurs had a shot to win it, Kawhi didn't want anything to do with the ball. I thought, Kawhi, if you want to be a Superstar and get to the level you want to get to, you gotta demand the ball with the game on the line, not let Tony Parker and Patty Mills take shots to win it. I was still a huge fan of his after the series, but I said if he wanted to get to the next level that he always talks about (being one of the all-time greats), then he needed to get mentally stronger at the end of big games/playoff games. I think he did it last season and got there, but we didn't get to see this season if he could build off of that and maintain it. Kawhi getting to the level he showed last season is also the reason I'm mad about the possibility of him leaving or trading him. He finally got to that level that he wanted to get to, but then to lose him straight after, especially if he's healthy, is really going to piss me off. The Spurs put a lot into him, and if he were to bail on the team, then I'm not sure anyone is going to be too happy about that (the fans and the Spurs).

[Vic Petro]

Shanaynay wildin out

[BatManu20]

Shaq might be right, tbh.

[Spurtacular]

Shaq might be right, tbh.

If the Spurs played games with the extension, then they probably deserved this, tbh. Then again, Shaq disagrees with that conclusion though.

[phxspurfan]

If the Spurs give a player who was so worried about this injury the Supermax without seeing him healthy, that could turn out to be the worst financial decision in franchise history.

[Chinook]

I've been vocal about Kawhi being a for not speaking or attending games, but of course the Spurs should offer him the supermax and try to work out at the end of the day, elite talent wins in this league..there's a massive gap between good and great players..

You're right about talent. The issue, though, is that Kawhi may not be able to be that elite talent anymore, or if he is, he may not be able to do it long enough or for as many games. TD21 threw in the caveat of a supermax "with protections", but there are two problems with this. One can be seen by looking at the potential contract breakdown of such a deal:

	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023	2023-2024	Total
Base	32.13	34.697	37.264	39.831	42.398	186.32
Max Incentives	5.67	6.123	6.576	7.029	7.482	32.88
Total	37.8	40.82	43.84	46.86	49.88	219.2

The Spurs could potentially lower the amount they owe further by making some of the salary non-guaranteed, but this protects against a Kawhi who is cut only. It's possible that Kawhi is hurt to the point that he'll never be a great player while also being able to be a very good player in a lesser role for many years to come. I think the Spurs would want that Kawhi regardless, but is that guy worth an average of $37M per year? Of course not. The Spurs would save $32 Million, which is noting to sneeze at, but that would still be more than the regular Bird-max.

This is obviously pure speculation. Only a couple of rumors have suggested Kawhi's injury may hinder the rest of his career. It's something to consider, though, because as I mentioned, it does explain a lot of what we've heard. If it's true, then this situation is really complicated, because there's no way to pay him both for what he used to be and for what he currently is at the same time. The Spurs truly believing the Kawhi of old is gone for good means they can't reasonably give him the deal, regardless of championship windows or whatever. It's a franchise-defining deal, and they can't afford to get it wrong.

EDIT: As I never did say what the other "problem" is. Kawhi being offered a max without it being fully guaranteed no matter what might be looked at as an insult. It's going to be a status thing for Curry, Harden and Russ to have those deals while Leonard doesn't. From everything we know, it would seem like a decent compromise that might even be in Leonard's favor, but it's easy to spin this as SA "trying to get him for cheap".

[cutewizard]

Agree

Most likely to the spurs advantage. He can't get supermax anywhere else and spurs have very good reason to not offer the full supermax... 40M is a nice cushion plus the fact that he would only want to be traded to a team he would want to extend with puts even more money in jeopardy.

I have a bad feeling for Kawhi that this injury is career altering at best and he's trying desperately to keep it secret and/or hope it fully resolves and not risk his next contract....problem is, he and his PR crew are putting it in jeopardy anyway with how they are handling it. I mean not showing any support for your team, not giving updates, and then trotting your sister out on Twitter to defend you? Pretty weak

The more I think about it, the more I agree with this post.

[Dingle Barry]

At people still making definitive declarations.

Unless he requests a trade after whatever discussions inevitably take place or after doing inevitable due diligence, they're not satisfied medically, why wouldn't they offer the super max (with protections)? The likely alternative is getting on the treadmill of mediocrity.

They don't have to offer it on July 1st. As long as they're on the same page by then, they can slow play this, similar to the Aldridge situation. Get him back around the team in open gym, through training camp and into a few preseason games. If all systems are a go, offer it then.

Then his leg hurts again and he disappears again.

[Brazil]

Clippers ya(the infamous Matt Barnes game), but he was still good vs. OKC..IIRC, only him, Aldridge and Green played well in that series..Parker was decent for stretches..

He was Barnes sat serie tbh...

[Atl Spur]

He’s been in the MVP race the last two years finishing second and third....... only on spurs talk does this type of crazy become normalized!

[MoSpur02]

"IF" what Shaq is saying is true then good for the Spurs. Why invest all that moneon a player with quad issues? If his uncle or group didn't like it then too bad. If he's sitting out because he doesn't wanna risk injury the. Why are you in the NBA. Seems shady. There is risk every time you're on the court.

[TheDoctor]

Do you work through an injury? You must be a board certified Doctor huh?

Ahem.

[eDizzle20]

Shaq might be right, tbh.

Great point by Shaq especially when Kawhi’s sister tweets, “...make sure you understand the business side of things...”.

[eDizzle20]

"IF" what Shaq is saying is true then good for the Spurs. Why invest all that moneon a player with quad issues? If his uncle or group didn't like it then too bad. If he's sitting out because he doesn't wanna risk injury the. Why are you in the NBA. Seems shady. There is risk every time you're on the court.

Supermax opportunity this summer. It’s tough for a player to qualify for it. They need to meet certain accolades and it’s crap ton more money that other teams can’t offer.

[dabom]

He was Barnes sat serie tbh...

Porker has been everyone's for the past 4 years. Including when we rang.

[lil'mo]

Pain is not injury. Kawhi had a chance to beat a 50% Warriors and the rest of the post season is the weakest I've seen at least in 15 years, specially defensively.

A star player with a decent chance at a championship cannot sit out because of contract,pain or whatever. This is bull .

To me he died, honestly.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I can't wait until you find what Drunkford did last summer.

[exstatic]

So, what did Shaq say? That the Spurs failed to offer him the SuperMax last summer?

[YGWHI]

OKC do you remember Roberson making fun that he was imposing his will on Kiwi? Or something to that effect?

He said that after game 2, in game 3 Kawhi scored 31 points in just 17 FGAs.

I also remember Kawhi scoring 26 pts 57% in game 5... while Pop opted to call to two P&Rs between Parker and LMA to close the game, two guys who played horrible and barely shot over .25%. in the game.
91-95...What a stupid loss.

Not bad at all

[vander]

LOL at the per 36 minutes stat. Makes me wonder, will kawhi ever play 36 minutes in a game again?

[SAGirl]

^just one of Pops recent blunders...
Spurs would have gone home in 4 THIS Series if he doesn't step down. Regrettable the death of Ms. Pop, but that's what it comes down to. He was going to go home early with Paddy guarding Klay all series, Kyle playing barely 5-6 minutes, Dijon playing 10 minutes while he played 25 minutes of Davis (something he didn't like to do even in the regular season) and 20 minutes to Bryn while both were shooting blanks and oh Bryn guarding Durant for good measure.

The Spurs weren't going to win this series but Pop was making it so difficult for them to even have a chance tbh.

[YGWHI]

The Spurs have a HISTORY of conservative injury return protocols, as well as taking care of players when they get older, making up for some of the pay they couldn't get on the front side of their careers on the back side. By saying he's worried about being IT'd, that says that he doesn't trust an organization built on trust. That broken trust will lead to his departure.

If the Spurs aren't willing to offer him the max because his quad got worse in the summer, as Danny Green said, we can agree that Spurs doctors mishandled his injury in some way.

Was Kawhi ready to play when he already did it in mid-season and had a setback? A possible career-altering injury and they cleared him to play instead of resting Kawhi the season and looking for the treatments he didn't receive in the summer?

The trusting issues are never about just one side.

[acoelho1]

To me, it's a no-brainer to offer the supermax if Kawhi wants to stay in San Antonio especially if PAFTO believe he will get full healthy, which per their actions, they already believe he's good enough to play now. It would be a disaster to trade such a talent and I don't care how many players and draft picks we get back. The likelihood of getting another transcendent player in the deal would be very low. So the top priority should be to repair the relationship and offer the supermax. There are no other options unless Kawhi is adamant about getting out of SA, which is unlikely given he set the win percentage record through 400 games played. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

[bklynspursfan]

^just one of Pops recent blunders...
Spurs would have gone home in 4 THIS Series if he doesn't step down. Regrettable the death of Ms. Pop, but that's what it comes down to. He was going to go home early with Paddy guarding Klay all series, Kyle playing barely 5-6 minutes, Dijon playing 10 minutes while he played 25 minutes of Davis (something he didn't like to do even in the regular season) and 20 minutes to Bryn while both were shooting blanks and oh Bryn guarding Durant for good measure.

The Spurs weren't going to win this series but Pop was making it so difficult for them to even have a chance tbh.

Nah. Pop does adjust... Sometimes longer than we would have liked, but he does make match-up adjustments. It's quite possible they were following the game plan he had anyway, who knows. Those coaches do give lots of input so it's not like a dictatorship.

I actually liked their game 2 strategy, trapping Klay, he really didn't get going until late in the game. 4-28 from 3 for us tho