Inside the tension between Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs - Woj

[lmbebo]

Her ultimate conclusion: The league is a different place now, there is a divide between the old way and the new way, and the Spurs need to "evolve(let him operate how he wants - similar to LMA last season)" to avoid losing one of the top players in the league.

So they blame the Spurs for all of this? Really?

[r0drig0lac]

Any scenerio with Philly needs a Simmons or a Emiid in it.

you are dreaming

[Mugen]

Spurs have been one of the most progressive teams this century.

Not sure how getting ed over by a failed agent and money-hungry leech is supposed to be considered "evolving"

[Budkin]

So they blame the Spurs for all of this? Really?

Not completely (the uncle is clearly the one leading Kawhi's camp) but she thought the Spurs needed to be cautious of sticking to "The Spurs Way" at the expense of losing a level of player that doesn't come around very often.

[Budkin]

Ironically the doctor working on him now is the main doctor for the 76ers who are now the leading candidate behind the Spurs to acquire him.

[Mugen]

Ironically the doctor working on him now is the main doctor for the 76ers who are now the leading candidate behind the Spurs to acquire him.

Philly has trash assets if they aren't giving up Simmons (they aren't). I want no part of another UDub PG that can't shoot tbh.

[SAGirl]

Via Jabari Young:

Following a story by ESPN detailing the Spurs' relationship with Leonard, the possibility of a trade will only intensify around the NBA.

The question is where would Leonard go?



Though the ESPN story suggests Leonard's uncle, Dennis Robertson, is pushing for a trade to a big market, those close to Leonard told the Express-News no trade conversations with the Spurs or internally have taken place.

Leonard's camp has not decided what route to take. They are waiting for the Spurs to decide they will offer Leonard the supermax.

If that occurs, Leonard's camp will then decide if they will accept the offer and repair any damage with the team, which is partly due to what they believe was a misdiagnosis of Leonard's right quad leading to the current injury.

Also, within Leonard's camp, there has been a feeling of dissipating support from the Spurs tied to leaks about his whereabouts while rehabbing, leaks about the Spurs' doctors clearing Leonard to play, and describing Leonard's medical team as "his group" – a term frequently used by Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.
--------------------------

Over the last few weeks, league sources told the Express-News the Sixers could make a push for Leonard this offseason and include their highly-coveted 2018 first-round pick.


Add forward Dario Saric, forward Robert Covington, and last year's top overall pick Markelle Fultz, who is close will Dejounte Murray, to the mix, and the Sixers have an attractive package to offer the Spurs that also removes Leonard from the Western Conference.


Sixers coach Brett Brown could also have an impact. Sources tell the Express-News Leonard would have no problem being coached by Brown, the former Spurs assistant coach.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...s-12878269.php






So PATFO should offer the Supermax, then Kawhi's "group" will decide if they want to proceed to repair the relationship? That sounds pretty ridiculous,

Yea if that's what they have in mind I don't know how you fix this. On top of it he's injured and missed an entire year... Delusional ... sounds like they are pretty pissed off too.

[duncan2k5]

After reading the article and listening to the Lowe / Shelburne podcast , I'm not as pissed with Kawhi as I was before. The Spurs have had so much success over the years by doing things their way and being in complete control of their players and organization. If you've ever had to deal with control-freaks in your life, you know how jilted and out-of-whack they become once you wrestle some control away from them. It's not pretty.

I get a sense that is what happened. Once Kawhi went with a second medical opinion & rehab regimen, the Spurs FO became paranoid, angry and frustrated at their loss of control. They blame the uncle and his new representation for the lack of communication. Undoubtedly it threw them for a loop and they DID NOT handle it well.

There is blame to go around on both sides. I hope Kawhi gets better and they reach an agreement.

Dude... U are 100% correct with this assessment

[Down Under]

It really seems as simple as his Uncle holding him out for the Supermax & Kawhi trusting him obviously (probably a father figure since his dad died). Tough for Spurs.

[tmtcsc]

Over the last few weeks, league sources told the Express-News the Sixers could make a push for Leonard this offseason and include their highly-coveted 2018 first-round pick.

Add forward Dario Saric, forward Robert Covington, and last year's top overall pick Markelle Fultz, who is close will Dejounte Murray, to the mix, and the Sixers have an attractive package to offer the Spurs that also removes Leonard from the Western Conference.

That's an attractive offer?!? GTFOH

[NASpurs]

Kawhi's uncle needs to go back to Compton and build a home there.

Probably get involved in the drug game while he's there.

[lmbebo]

https://sports.yahoo.com/7-things-le...172155529.html

[Budkin]

The Shelburne segment isn't up yet but apparently they spoke with Michael C. Wright before that. Here's that audio:

https://soundcloud.com/espn-san-anto...-wright-5-1-18

[MoSpur02]

Try to fix all this and make him earn the supermax after this next season. Before committing almo5a quarter of a billion dollars to a single player I wanna see what that player can do.

[Budkin]

They just put up the Ramona Shelburne segment here:

https://soundcloud.com/espn-san-anto...elburne-5-1-18

[SAGirl]

The most interesting take is at 4:45 when Ramona states "My reporting on this says that he's close and all he really needs is a summer to get himself ready."

Still, she indicates that there is much uncertainty regarding the injury.

I don't believe that, bc he has said he is close before and backed out. Until I see him play and have no recurrences playing B2B etc. I won't assume more time will make him 100%

[SAGirl]

Sign him, that is all that matters. Once that happens you have full control.

No. You don't control him ever coming back from this injury and him becoming an albatross for 5 years. It's an unfortunate situation. He may really never be right.

[MoSpur02]

Kawhi is a top 5 maybe even top 3 player who deserves that super max IF HEALTHY. That's the only reason I don't off that money yet. He was gifted $19 million this past season. He will be earning another $19/$20 million this upcoming season so it's not like it's chump change. If he plays a majority of the 82 games next season and qualifies for super max then by all means offer that super max.

Look at the Memphis and Conley.

[YGWHI]

After reading the article and listening to the Lowe / Shelburne podcast , I'm not as pissed with Kawhi as I was before. The Spurs have had so much success over the years by doing things their way and being in complete control of their players and organization. If you've ever had to deal with control-freaks in your life, you know how jilted and out-of-whack they become once you wrestle some control away from them. It's not pretty.

I get a sense that is what happened. Once Kawhi went with a second medical opinion & rehab regimen, the Spurs FO became paranoid, angry and frustrated at their loss of control. They blame the uncle and his new representation for the lack of communication. Undoubtedly it threw them for a loop and they DID NOT handle it well.

There is blame to go around on both sides. I hope Kawhi gets better and they reach an agreement.

Agree. The Spurs want Kawhi trust them unconditionally when their doctors mishandled his injury.

It's easier to talk about his uncle as a Lavar-type guy than admitting a team-medical staff's mistake

[ducks]

6. Leonard planned to join Popovich on the bench if the coach returned after his wife’s death.
Following the death of Erin Popovich, the Spurs coach took a leave of absence from the final three games of their first-round series agains the Golden State Warriors. Had he returned, though, Leonard planned to join the team as a show of solidarity, according to ESPN. This could be interpreted as a reflection of the still-close ties between the 26-year-old champion and the coach who helped transform him into a Finals MVP, despite criticism of Leonard’s decision not to join the team earlier

[DPG21920]

Dude... U are 100% correct with this assessment

I think that is somewhat fair for the Spurs side of things; they let their frustration show more than normal because the lack of communication and control (which if you were paying someone 19M wouldn’t you want better control?).

But Kawhi played his role too. Spurs have also catered to Kawhi by protecting him from a lot of media responsibility, etc..

[Stabula]

If that were true, the Spurs doctor would never have cleared him to play. That’s the groups bluff, to try to either get him traded, or SuperMaxed. I would never personally play poker with Pop. It’s not going the way they think It will. Pop can butt this agent, and there will be no blowback, because he’s an independent with no agency behind him, and when others see what a hash he’s made of the Kawhi situation, he’ll never get any More clients.

They could still clear Leonard to play since technically he could as long as he could play through the pain, but chances of accelerating the rate of degeneration of the tendon increases. NBA players get cleared under such cir stances all the time, and sometimes it results in further aggravation of an injury. Seems like Leonard is doctor shopping to find a doctor that will tell him it's a temporary injury rather than a chronic disease to avoid tanking his value. The Spurs doctors right away called it tendinopathy but when Leonard went to New York they kept it mysterious referring to his absence as "Return From Injury Management". In my opinion I think this whole strained relationship drama is fake news to distract from the severity of Leonard's disease and make it seem like it's a lover's quarrel between Leonard and the Spurs so they can sell their damaged goods at a high price.

[DPG21920]

Agree. The Spurs want Kawhi trust them unconditionally when their doctors mishandled his injury.

It's easier to talk about his uncle as a Lavar-type guy than admitting a team-medical staff's mistake

How come Kawhi’s team who’s been in charge has not fared any better? They said he would be back soon and apparently he suffered setbacks under them.

Does it have to be either/or? Can Kawhi’s camp not be handling things poorly and there also be injury concerns?

[YGWHI]

Kawhi is a top 5 maybe even top 3 player who deserves that super max IF HEALTHY. That's the only reason I don't off that money yet.

Really? Is Kawhi's quad injured? I remember your sources telling you that he didn't play because a mental issue.

[MoSpur02]

Agree. The Spurs want Kawhi trust them unconditionally when their doctors mishandled his injury.

It's easier to talk about his uncle as a Lavar-type guy than admitting a team-medical staff's mistake

Predictable.