Young: sources tell @ExpressNews that Kawhi Leonard wants to be traded from Spurs

[Keepin' it real]

Oh it's true, it's damn true.

[Marcus Bryant]

Former competent agent negotiates max extension, good relationship with team.

Uncle convinces Leonard to fire him, now relationship destroyed and Leonard could lose out on up to almost $100 mil.

[ducks]

Former competent agent negotiates max extension, good relationship with team.

Uncle convinces Leonard to fire him, now relationship destroyed and Leonard could lose out on up to almost $100 mil.

Leonard should run back now to ex agent
If he did spurs would max him

[coachmac87]

Kawhi Leonard story could be the next Tyron Smith story...


http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page...g-family-money

[FkLA]

Former competent agent negotiates max extension, good relationship with team.

Uncle convinces Leonard to fire him, now relationship destroyed and Leonard could lose out on up to almost $100 mil.

Someone needs to interview the former uncle after all their legal is done with. I'm sure he'd be eager to spill everything he knows.

[jjktkk]

Was looking for the link to the podcast since I was about to listen to it all and came across this on reddit:

[Das Texan]

The information being provided by Wright is absolutely incredible. When this is all said and done, this story can easily be sold as a book.

Why cant the EN writers have 1/10 the talent of Wright?

Damn I miss Ludden.

[coachmac87]

Former competent agent negotiates max extension, good relationship with team.

Uncle convinces Leonard to fire him, now relationship destroyed and Leonard could lose out on up to almost $100 mil.

Pop tells Kawhi.... “Keep Uncle D get 4yr/140M....or cut bait with Uncle D and get 5yr/221M”

[TimDunkem]

Why cant the EN writers have 1/10 the talent of Wright?

Damn I miss Ludden.

What's the incentive? They get to keep their jobs with the trash they "write" as it is.

[FkLA]

Kawhi Leonard story could be the next Tyron Smith story...


http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page...g-family-money

Damn, Tyron Smith is from Moreno Valley just like Kawhi too.

[Mikeanaro]

Yeah, hard to believe that somehow he's not aware of what's going on.

Yeah but he behaves like a child, like dont wanna see Pop, why? is he going to scream to him? make him do some poo poo?
Then wants to go to Lakers, now it seems its not a good idea because Lebron is there.
If he doesnt give a its ok, but does he thinks he is the best player ever assembled in human history?

[baseline bum]

What's the incentive? They get to keep their jobs with the trash they "write" as it is.

I doubt they'll keep them much longer. How much time you think the Express News has left?

[TimDunkem]

I doubt they'll keep them much longer. How much time you think the Express News has left?

Not much time if there is any fairness in this world.

[Das Texan]

I doubt they'll keep them much longer. How much time you think the Express News has left?

The overall coverage in that rag gets worse by the day all the while the price consistently increases.

[SupremeGuy]

Damn, Tyron Smith is from Moreno Valley just like Kawhi too.

That is odd...

[raybies]

IMO They are intent on playing the long game. By putting all the cards on the table they are attempting to see who's got the best hand. Simple poker tactics in a high stakes match. They are putting the pressure on Uncle to call, which we all can safely assume he's been bluffing thus far. If he calls and doesn't have the better hand, whatever rep his group had will take a severe hit. The backlash will be intense wherever he goes and they will have lost respect all throughout the league which has endorsement reprocussions as well marketing sabotage. As for the Spurs they will have alleviated the only card they(Kawhi's Group) had which was the victim card. When people realize it was just a stunt it may have one of few affects. For example PATFO would've gained the leverage to threaten "We'll see you in camp." With no protection and players required to be made available to the media, there will be a field day around him. That's a lot of tough questions and no one is gonna protect him. He can talk or the fines start. Most know in politics the tough questions can make you break. That's a whole lot of pressure for someone who's not well built to handle that kind of scrutiny. So in this scenario Spurs gain leverage. Open your demands or face the music. I really feel Kawhi's group is in over their heads... Another affect is for him to save face come clean and resign, similar to Aldridge. LMA rebuilt his rep throughout the league for working it out and establishing himself as one of the best players in the league. ALL NBA... I think once Uncle Dennis realized what's really about to happen he'll advise Kawhi to be open minded about his move or resigning for the Super or somewhere near it to save face would be in his best interest. I just don't see them wanting to make it to come to camp at any cost. They save themselves a lot by avoiding that scenario.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Kawhi might want to check on his money, tbh.

i would

[jjktkk]

Someone photoshop Kawhi's face and Spurs staffers to this gif please

[TXstbobcat]

Done deal.

[ducks]

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/report...015615764.html

Kawhi Leonard's team resorted to extreme measures when the San Antonio Spurs came calling during his rehab process.

[cd021]

Welp.

terrible trade tbh; Kyrie apparently wants to go to the Knicks, Spurs would be in the same spot in less than a year and it's unclear if the Kings pick was offered, for all we know, it was the Celtics 2019 pick.

[TekXX]

Someone photoshop Kawhi's face and Spurs staffers to this gif please

You sure that's not Kawhi?

[SAGirl]

Full podcast notes:

— Spurs wanted sit-down early on to air everything out but were afraid to approach Kawhi’s team because they didn’t want to be perceived as trying to rush him back

— Mike Wright tells the late all-star game story and pins it right on Uncle Dennis. Said traffic was so bad they walked from the hotel to the arena.

— Kawhi’s group feels Spurs are too controlling, but Wright and hosts point out that Uncle Dennis has no frame of reference to compare to. Mike Wright concurs with a statement that Uncle Dennis is “clueless”

— Host says this is a lesson in everything not to do in handling a young superstar

— Host asks if this is, at its core, about lack of trust over the misdiagnosis. Mentions Kawhi also sought a 2nd opinion on his wrist injury in 2014 so this may be a long standing issue between player and team. Mike Wright thinks that’s the essence of it, but the major component is Uncle Dennis fanning the flames. Spurs admit they may have ed up injury diagnosis, but they can’t be sure because they lost control of rehab on Aug 8th. Wright mentions the rumor that Kawhi shopped around for doctors

— Spurs reps were in New York during rehab but had no say or input on rehab at that point

— It’s fair to question what’s going on from Kawhi’s side both from a management perspective and a medical perspective. Spurs were in the dark medically all year.

— There was a point last year when Spurs flew to New York but as soon as they walked in the building, Kawhi’s team “sequestered” him so the Spurs couldn’t see him. Wright said he shouldn’t tell that story but he thinks Kawhi is gone so it doesn’t matter

— What was impetus for Spurs handing over rehab in August? Kawhi felt the rehab exercises were hurting him worse. He went and got multiple opinions, then Spurs handed over rehab

— Spurs could not get a hold of Kawhi when he visited China. Spurs wanted to send team security, but everything changed for them when they couldn’t reach him in China

— Wright says Spurs gave Kawhi an inch by giving up control of rehab, and Kawhi took a mile. Host says of course every team would want to control their franchise player’s rehab. That’s not controlling to want to do that. Wright thinks Spurs were too accommodating in giving up rehab and Kawhi took advantage of them.

— The Spurs still don’t know what they want to do with him. Don’t know if they’ll keep him or when they’ll trade him

— Seems obvious that a path to reconciliation is the Supermax. But is there a guarantee Kawhi and Uncle Dennis won’t pull this again 3 months later? “It’s a band-aid on a gunshot wound.” Wright says too risky to offer a supermax now.

— Co-host says Kawhi’s people really screwed this up. Contrasts him to Lebron in saying that Lebron is not a fool, but Kawhi is being a fool and being played. Ultimately it’s on Kawhi because he has the power to change it

— Wright says the Spurs are going to do what’s best for them regardless. It’s not about what Kawhi wants for them anymore.

— Wright says the Ingram/Kuzma/Hart/Picks package was accurate but he heard Spurs asked for 4 picks and not 2 picks and 2 pick swaps

— Wright said Spurs just want Kawhi alone in a room and can’t get it. Everything is going through Dennis and Spurs aren’t sure what really comes from Kawhi and what’s just Dennis

— All agree it’s just a bad idea to mix family and business

— Host asks if Kawhi is staying off the court because he’s worried teams will be scared off that his level of play has dropped or he’s still injured? Wright said it’s gone off the rails and no one knows. He thinks Kawhi should keep the Uncle on the payroll but just not be represented by him.

— Wright doesn’t think anything gets done anytime soon because the Spurs don’t want to trade him. Both sides in a bad spot

— How much did Pop’s comments contribute to Kawhi’s unhappiness? (Host mistakenly thinks Pop made the “100 times worse” comment). Wright says comments were not meant to be critical of Kawhi. Tony’s ultimate message was “be positive.” Wright was standing there and knew it was going to get exaggerated. Kawhi’s taking offense to that and using that as a reason to want a trade is just an excuse

— Wright says he talked to a high ranking Spurs official 2 days ago and that person did not know the context of the “100 times worse” comment. He knew the quote but had never watched the interview in its entirety for context

— Might be tough to sell vets on Kawhi returning because Kawhi and his team kept giving false dates as to when he’d return. It would be this game, then that game, then that game. Moving target. That’s what led to Ginobili comments. After series with GSW previous year, vets thought the team could be compe ive for a ring and Kawhi said “ it.” Then Kawhi shows up for picture day, leaves before shootaround, and they basically don’t see him again

— Wright knew it was over when Kawhi requested trade. Before that, team thought they could fix it. Wright wonders if Pop would have been able to focus more on repairing the relationship had he not been dealing with aftermath of wife’s death.

— All Kawhi had to say from the beginning is “I don’t want to play in San Antonio.” Instead it’s a littany of excuses for why he wants out. Spurs went out of their way to protect him. How many media markets can your star player go 2 months without making a comment? Once Spurs couldn’t protect him anymore he started looking bad. Wright doesn’t see a reconciliation

— Co-host suggests team promises to trade Kawhi, but explains to him that he has to restore his value by playing. They’ll update him on trade talks every week. Wright says they may not be able to even get to that conversation. He says all the reports about Uncle Dennis are not exaggerations. He can’t even tell most of the stories of the various wild an unorthodox things Uncle Dennis has requested

— Wright says Kawhi wants the Clippers, but he thinks a dark horse team will wind up with him. Clippers are a mismatch as a trade partner. Wright wants him to go to LA though and experience that media so he knows how good he had it in San Antonio. Skipping interviews is not an option in LA. 10x more reporters focused on him, and wait until “Lonzo’s Daddy” says something about him. Will he think the team betrayed him when they don’t protect him from the media like the Spurs did?

thanks for the summary. Appreciated.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Full podcast notes:

— Spurs wanted sit-down early on to air everything out but were afraid to approach Kawhi’s team because they didn’t want to be perceived as trying to rush him back

— Mike Wright tells the late all-star game story and pins it right on Uncle Dennis. Said traffic was so bad they walked from the hotel to the arena.

— Kawhi’s group feels Spurs are too controlling, but Wright and hosts point out that Uncle Dennis has no frame of reference to compare to. Mike Wright concurs with a statement that Uncle Dennis is “clueless”

— Host says this is a lesson in everything not to do in handling a young superstar

— Host asks if this is, at its core, about lack of trust over the misdiagnosis. Mentions Kawhi also sought a 2nd opinion on his wrist injury in 2014 so this may be a long standing issue between player and team. Mike Wright thinks that’s the essence of it, but the major component is Uncle Dennis fanning the flames. Spurs admit they may have ed up injury diagnosis, but they can’t be sure because they lost control of rehab on Aug 8th. Wright mentions the rumor that Kawhi shopped around for doctors

— Spurs reps were in New York during rehab but had no say or input on rehab at that point

— It’s fair to question what’s going on from Kawhi’s side both from a management perspective and a medical perspective. Spurs were in the dark medically all year.

— There was a point last year when Spurs flew to New York but as soon as they walked in the building, Kawhi’s team “sequestered” him so the Spurs couldn’t see him. Wright said he shouldn’t tell that story but he thinks Kawhi is gone so it doesn’t matter

— What was impetus for Spurs handing over rehab in August? Kawhi felt the rehab exercises were hurting him worse. He went and got multiple opinions, then Spurs handed over rehab

— Spurs could not get a hold of Kawhi when he visited China. Spurs wanted to send team security, but everything changed for them when they couldn’t reach him in China

— Wright says Spurs gave Kawhi an inch by giving up control of rehab, and Kawhi took a mile. Host says of course every team would want to control their franchise player’s rehab. That’s not controlling to want to do that. Wright thinks Spurs were too accommodating in giving up rehab and Kawhi took advantage of them.

— The Spurs still don’t know what they want to do with him. Don’t know if they’ll keep him or when they’ll trade him

— Seems obvious that a path to reconciliation is the Supermax. But is there a guarantee Kawhi and Uncle Dennis won’t pull this again 3 months later? “It’s a band-aid on a gunshot wound.” Wright says too risky to offer a supermax now.

— Co-host says Kawhi’s people really screwed this up. Contrasts him to Lebron in saying that Lebron is not a fool, but Kawhi is being a fool and being played. Ultimately it’s on Kawhi because he has the power to change it

— Wright says the Spurs are going to do what’s best for them regardless. It’s not about what Kawhi wants for them anymore.

— Wright says the Ingram/Kuzma/Hart/Picks package was accurate but he heard Spurs asked for 4 picks and not 2 picks and 2 pick swaps

— Wright said Spurs just want Kawhi alone in a room and can’t get it. Everything is going through Dennis and Spurs aren’t sure what really comes from Kawhi and what’s just Dennis

— All agree it’s just a bad idea to mix family and business

— Host asks if Kawhi is staying off the court because he’s worried teams will be scared off that his level of play has dropped or he’s still injured? Wright said it’s gone off the rails and no one knows. He thinks Kawhi should keep the Uncle on the payroll but just not be represented by him.

— Wright doesn’t think anything gets done anytime soon because the Spurs don’t want to trade him. Both sides in a bad spot

— How much did Pop’s comments contribute to Kawhi’s unhappiness? (Host mistakenly thinks Pop made the “100 times worse” comment). Wright says comments were not meant to be critical of Kawhi. Tony’s ultimate message was “be positive.” Wright was standing there and knew it was going to get exaggerated. Kawhi’s taking offense to that and using that as a reason to want a trade is just an excuse

— Wright says he talked to a high ranking Spurs official 2 days ago and that person did not know the context of the “100 times worse” comment. He knew the quote but had never watched the interview in its entirety for context

— Might be tough to sell vets on Kawhi returning because Kawhi and his team kept giving false dates as to when he’d return. It would be this game, then that game, then that game. Moving target. That’s what led to Ginobili comments. After series with GSW previous year, vets thought the team could be compe ive for a ring and Kawhi said “ it.” Then Kawhi shows up for picture day, leaves before shootaround, and they basically don’t see him again

— Wright knew it was over when Kawhi requested trade. Before that, team thought they could fix it. Wright wonders if Pop would have been able to focus more on repairing the relationship had he not been dealing with aftermath of wife’s death.

— All Kawhi had to say from the beginning is “I don’t want to play in San Antonio.” Instead it’s a littany of excuses for why he wants out. Spurs went out of their way to protect him. How many media markets can your star player go 2 months without making a comment? Once Spurs couldn’t protect him anymore he started looking bad. Wright doesn’t see a reconciliation

— Co-host suggests team promises to trade Kawhi, but explains to him that he has to restore his value by playing. They’ll update him on trade talks every week. Wright says they may not be able to even get to that conversation. He says all the reports about Uncle Dennis are not exaggerations. He can’t even tell most of the stories of the various wild an unorthodox things Uncle Dennis has requested

— Wright says Kawhi wants the Clippers, but he thinks a dark horse team will wind up with him. Clippers are a mismatch as a trade partner. Wright wants him to go to LA though and experience that media so he knows how good he had it in San Antonio. Skipping interviews is not an option in LA. 10x more reporters focused on him, and wait until “Lonzo’s Daddy” says something about him. Will he think the team betrayed him when they don’t protect him from the media like the Spurs did?

black name this spur fan i said

[Spurs da champs]

terrible trade tbh; Kyrie apparently wants to go to the Knicks, Spurs would be in the same spot in less than a year and it's unclear if the Kings pick was offered, for all we know, it was the Celtics 2019 pick.

Didn't Kyrie list Spurs as a destination when he wanted trade from Cavs? He could potentially lure a Texan in Jimmy Butler to SA ala LMA, just a pipedream tho.