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tl;dr
Kwahi is a gym rat who just doesn't buy lavish things, I highly doubt money is the MAIN factor here. He would make more money overall with a max contract as a #1 player in SA than a #2 guy in LA, even with bigger endorsements in LA.
When Kwahi came back from injury, he was clearly not himself. Spurs medical staff definitely made a mistake somewhere. With the Isiah Thomas situation fresh on everyone's mind, and Spurs reluctant to give him max contract / allowed him to play with injuries in the past, his uncle rightfully pursued second opinion. I am sure both sides agreed there was some sort of misdiagnosis, one of Kwahi's last media interviews was cut short by Spurs staff in public. Both sides probably agreed to not speak of the situation, and Kwahi went under the radar.
Parker's team meeting did a lot of damage to the overall relationship. Parker was very reluctant to hand the team to Kwahi, Pop had to yell at him on national TV to pass the ball to Kwahi! If you remember, after the 2014 victory over the Heat, Kwahi's most memorable line to Pop was "thank you for trusting me". The truth is, Spurs culture is built on military-like hierarchy, and Pop usually has a short leash on the younger guys, and gave his trusted veterans a lot more minutes/plays. Kwahi probably had years of frustration about not getting more plays called for him, even in 2015 after he won the finals MVP. And the transition of the team between Parker and Kwahi was probably nowhere near as smooth as DRob => Duncan => Parker behind the scenes, because Parker is a lot closer to a typical NBA star than Duncan/Robinson's selfless nature. We are talking about someone who cheated with a teammate's wife here. Being a quiet and sensitive guy since his father's death, Kwahi is not the type to confront a Spurs icon like Parker in public, but he will remember every little detail.
The "family business" meeting from Parker, and lack of support from the management, pushed Kwahi over the edge. The fact Spurs allowed someone a year or two away from retirement to call out their #1 player in the locker room, and did not speak up for Kwahi in the media immediately right after, that is unheard of. Pop could have easily took Kwahi off the day-to-day list and shelved him permanently until he says "I am ready coach", instead he was giving a lot of little hints to the media, that Kwahi may be faking his injury, tried to pressure his franchise player in public! Sure, Pop was dealing with his wife's health issues, but this was without any question a huge mistake. The "everyone is equal" culture was built because Duncan could be yelled at by Pop in front of everyone. But Duncan was the once in a life time star. Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Durant, none of them would allow someone like Parker to challenge them in the locker room. Make no mistake about it, players are NOT equal in the locker room, superstars expect special treatments. Pop, while handling his wife's situation, and also used to dealing with Duncan, was blindsided by Kwahi's sensitivity, and what 2018 franchise players expect from their teams.
The truth is, Spurs received back-to-back trade demands from its #1 and #2 players, with Pop a year or two from retirement, we as a destination for free agents, including ones we develop, is going to take a huge dive. Spurs also had a disastrous off season, throwing away the equivalent of a maximum contract to . . . Gasol/Mills. The "team before me" culture translates into reduced stats and smaller contract for star players, and they will look at Richard Jefferson, LMA's before/after production and take notice.
Sure, Kwahi could have been a lot more open with his feelings, and speak like a leader/franchise player. But I am sure we have dealt with people like this before, they rarely speak up for themselves when confronted, you think they are low key / low maintenance, but they are very sensitive inside and by the time you realize they ac ulated too much anger within, the relationship is over and there is nothing you can do to change their mind. He is without any question at fault for unwilling to fight back for himself in media, LeBron/Kobe would have handled this 100 times better, they would have never allowed their feeling to be hurt by someone like Parker, they would have thrown down the gauntlet, trade him or I leave. But Kwahi is who he is, he trusted his coach and management to defend him at all costs after his injury turned out to be worse than it appeared, he got the opposite from them, hence the feeling of betrayal.
It is just bad luck. Pop obviously had a lot going on in his life, just didn't get a chance to do the same for Kwahi as he did for LMA. Kwahi is even more private/sensitive than LMA, if Kwahi put in a private trade request after the Parker meeting, Pop would have solved the problem right there and then like he did for LMA.
Last edited by hitmantb; 06-30-2018 at 10:26 PM.
tl;dr
tl;dr
tl;dr
Read all of it.
Fine points you make sir.
Leonard wanted to fit in all have said they pushed Leonard to do more
The last paragraph said Leonard should have said something early. The ball was in his court had he not liked anything. Pop would have listened. he listened to Lma and even changed how he coached him.
Both sides are to blame to a point
It is just bad luck. Pop obviously had a lot going on in his life, just didn't get a chance to do the same for Kwahi as he did for LMA. Kwahi is even more private/sensitive than LMA, if Kwahi put in a trade request with Pop 1v1 after the Parker meeting, Pop would have solved the problem right there and then.
Ban OP. Probably Kawhitter’s uncle’s sock puppet tbh.
lol Kwahi
If money doesn’t matter, why didn’t he sign that Nike contract?
LMA acted like a man last year after making his demand and speaking for himself, and then reconciling and then balling out on the court afterwards.
Kawhi did the exact opposite.
considered reading until I saw this comment.
How were the Spurs supposed to be control what Parker says to Kawhi in a players only meeting. FOH.
You're wrong. This is only about money and the Spurs reluctance to pay the supermax.
This whole discussion assumes that he can play. Maybe he's done and this is all a smokescreen to hide it. Not to say that he won't play again, but he might be always limited by this injury.
That could be true but even if that's the case you don't sit out the whole entire year and refuse to play. You honor your contract and then leave.
Completely agree with OP... and why are ppl giving props to LMA? he is a choker that wanted to be traded because he felt he deserved more shots... He didn't even give the reason until they realized he couldn't be traded... And the only reason he looked better this year was because there was no other star on the team... Who is to say he won't melt down again like he did will Lillard and Kawhi? Plz come back KL... Show everyone how wrong they are!
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