Inside the tension between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs - Woj

[Ron Swanson]

Hope somebody besides uncle Dennis is watching Leonard’s bank account for him.

[DaBears]

Are you kidding me? This is the journalism fans have been wanting all season. It's easily the most informative article regarding the tension between the Spurs and Kawhi's "group". It sheds light on the differences between the Spurs' diagnosis of Leonard's injury and the second opinion he received in NY. It answers many questions and allows the reader to decide for themselves who (if anyone) is at fault.

Even though I think ESPN has been trash for years, this is great reporting by Wright and Shelburne.

I dont trust Wright on anything he reports.. Has no real insight, his reporting is blah to say the least and doesn't provide any pertinent details you'd think he'd have being he's local, but he just rehashes the same old stuff you here from the national media.. He is the type of journalist ' if you can call him that ', who'd rather keep his job, rather than ask the in your face questions we all our asking.

This might sound personal its not ( sure he is a nice guy & loves his job ), its just from what i have seen & heard over the years. He doesn't provide insider knowledge you'd think he'd have, ( us fans, already know most of what he reports ) and reports are much the same.

[absoloot66]

Are you kidding me? This is the journalism fans have been wanting all season. It's easily the most informative article regarding the tension between the Spurs and Kawhi's "group". It sheds light on the differences between the Spurs' diagnosis of Leonard's injury and the second opinion he received in NY. It answers many questions and allows the reader to decide for themselves who (if anyone) is at fault.

Even though I think ESPN has been trash for years, this is great reporting by Wright and Shelburne.

Agree. Lots of salient info/details in this story, filling gaping holes in the narrative so far. Well written.

[rjv]

nothing too fresh other than some minor revelations that pop and some of the spurs are in constant touch and that kawhi would have made it to a playoff game had pop been there to coach. the one thing i, personally, got out of it is that parker needs to keep his mouth shut.

[Big Empty]

This article does have in depth info on what may be happening. Basically, Kawhi has hired Master P to be his agent in a sense.

[DPG21920]

The most eye opening part is Kawhi’s team and doctors withholding info from the Spurs and public. Why the need to be so shady?

[daslicer]

The 2 points I get out of this article is:

1. Kawhi's injury was unfortunate but nobody is at fault for it. It was just straight up bad luck. I can understand his frustration in dealing with it but him and his camp have to realize it wasn't the Spurs fault. Going forward I'm not sure the spurs should offer him the super max because this injury seems chronic and is only going to get worse.

2. His uncle is who I and many other suspected to be which is a greedy POS hanger on. I laughed when I read this guy wanted to have a marketing agency just like Lebron's LRMR. I have said a few times in here if Kawhi stays with the Spurs that his Uncle wants a Lebron level of power within the organization. Also it confirms what I have suspected that Kawhi doesn't really care about endorsements but it's his uncle who was the one who cares about them.

[RD2191]

Kawhi's uncle needs to gtfo tbh.

[Dverde]

We got too many rats on the Spurs ship. CIA Pop needs to start waterboarding people.

[coachmac87]

Good article, it confirms what many of us have been saying for months, Kawhi isn't calling the shots, it's his uncle and agent..Kawhi doesn't have that type of personality, he isn't LeBron or Chris Paul, he doesn't run his own ..

It's easy to say "Kawhi should get real representation" or "Kawhi should get his uncle to back off", but that's typically something you hear from white people who don't understand the hood dynamic of bringing your mans and family along for the ride..

Tough situation for the Spurs, looks almost exactly like the Derrick Rose saga(uncle rather than brother, in this case)..Kawhi has a mental disability, it wouldn't be that difficult for family or friends to manipulate him, it's very typical in pro sports..

I do feel bad for Pop, though, very difficult year for him..beginning with Aldridge asking for a trade, to this terrible season with the superstar not playing all year, obviously his wife passing away, and now the possibility that Donald Trump may win a Nobel Peace Prize..wow, money is nice, but that's a stressful year for a 70-year old..

Business Rules 101

Never mix Business/Family..doesn’t have to do with anything about race...

You can bring people along the ride without mixing the two. I get why some do it though cause they feel “family member” had their best interest..but when things go south it’s hard to cut the cord and both parties can go down together

[duncan2k5]

Duncan had "proper" representation... Unfortunately many times these guys are crooks... I'd rather an overambitious uncle that has some financial experience and was there for me in hard times, than some guy I don't know know... Lebron put his friends on, and they managed well... Everything negative said about his uncle is coming from ppl that have an agenda, or are going by third hand information

[sasaint]

I read words like "ossification" and "atrophying" and I get very concerned for Kawhi and the Spurs.

[duncan2k5]

The most eye opening part is Kawhi’s team and doctors withholding info from the Spurs and public. Why the need to be so shady?

This was never stated... Don't make stuff up

[daslicer]

Good article, it confirms what many of us have been saying for months, Kawhi isn't calling the shots, it's his uncle and agent..Kawhi doesn't have that type of personality, he isn't LeBron or Chris Paul, he doesn't run his own ..

It's easy to say "Kawhi should get real representation" or "Kawhi should get his uncle to back off", but that's typically something you hear from white people who don't understand the hood dynamic of bringing your mans and family along for the ride..

Tough situation for the Spurs, looks almost exactly like the Derrick Rose saga(uncle rather than brother, in this case)..Kawhi has a mental disability, it wouldn't be that difficult for family or friends to manipulate him, it's very typical in pro sports..

I do feel bad for Pop, though, very difficult year for him..beginning with Aldridge asking for a trade, to this terrible season with the superstar not playing all year, obviously his wife passing away, and now the possibility that Donald Trump may win a Nobel Peace Prize..wow, money is nice, but that's a stressful year for a 70-year old..

Always trying to get in your cheesy racial shtick. What the are you talking about it's been pretty much accepted for years by the mainstream that these black athletes go broke due to their mismanagement of money and allowing their friends and family to leech off of them. People understand hood dynamics and they look at it as being stupid.

[DPG21920]

This was never stated... Don't make stuff up

Yes it was. If I highlight the part where it was stated (and don’t be obtuse and say it has to be word for word) will you leave ST forever?

[daslicer]

Duncan had "proper" representation... Unfortunately many times these guys are crooks... I'd rather an overambitious uncle that has some financial experience and was there for me in hard times, than some guy I don't know know... Lebron put his friends on, and they managed well... Everything negative said about his uncle is coming from ppl that have an agenda, or are going by third hand information

Lebron's friends are idiots they cost him hundreds of millions with the decision.

[sammy]

Kawhi needs to dump the family and hangerons before they destroy his career and steal his money! He needs to get a legitimate agent and start making the decisions himself! His uncle is all out for himself and he's already lost millions in the shoe deal with Nike because of these greedy morons! You're 26 years old and old enough to take care of yourself! These morons are destroying your relationship with the Spurs and your opportunity to sign for 219 million even though I'm not convinced you should get that this summer until we know you are healthy long-term! Once the Spurs get those assurances, then they will sign you the 219 million contract.

[DPG21920]

Listened to the Lowe podcast where Shelburn expanded on this article. The withholding info was explained more there.

[daslicer]

Also those idiots on ESPN and the mainstream who kept on saying the spurs misdiagnosed his injury. This article proves they didn't.

[exstatic]

nothing too fresh other than some minor revelations that pop and some of the spurs are in constant touch and that kawhi would have made it to a playoff game had pop been there to coach. the one thing i, personally, got out of it is that parker needs to keep his mouth shut.

Pop did coach two playoff games, and no Kawhi. Why does Pop's wife have to die for Kawhi to pull his head out of his ass and do the right thing? It's VERY easy to say after the fact that he would have been there.

[DPG21920]

From the article:

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich consistently affirmed his personal affection for Leonard but repeatedly expressed frustration about a rehabilitation process from an injury they never expected would take this long to heal. "You'll have to ask his group," Popovich consistently said when asked for updates, before reminding everyone that Spurs doctors had cleared him to play back in December.


]Popovich presented San Antonio as a powerless, frustrated organization waiting for its franchise player and his camp to tell them what comes next. Leonard's group offered little explanation publicly or privately. And so it was left to Leonard to either rectify the situation or let it fester.

[Mugen]

If anything after this article, I'm more inclined that Kawhi wants to stay with the Spurs on the supermax contract. His close relationship with Pop and the reason he was sitting out was really because of the injury steers me in that direction.

What's concerning is that this injury could really be a career-changer and that he's obviously being manipulated by people close to him. For those reasons, it's easy to understand if the Spurs want to move on from Kawhi this summer.

[baseline bum]

ing Uncle Dennis. What kind of chicken move is that to try to piggyback off his nephew's success and put a $219 million extension in extreme peril when it would have been an obvious go without him? It's not like Kawhi was going to let him starve, but now Uncle Dennis thinks he has millionaire talent too? I hate hearing these stories about family members who think they get to be rich too. I hope he doesn't bleed Kawhi dry even if Leonard leaves the Spurs.

[ducks]

I hope Leonard uncle dies

[acoelho1]

This article fits the narrative of what the Spurs and especially Pop have been saying to the media. Why else would Pop continually reference "his group" if they didn't feel there was a lack of communication from Kawhi's camp. It had to be more than just a difference of opinion on how to treat the injury. Perhaps the motive by Kawhi's reps was to fray the relationship enough to force him out of SA and into a bigger market even if that's not what Kawhi actually wants. I still say the only option is to repair the relationship and offer the supermax.