Uncle Dennis Finally Talks! “They didn’t believe Kawhi couldn’t play and that caused a lack of trust"

[Bad Takes]

OAKLAND, Calif. — Dennis Robertson, referred predominantly in NBA circles as “Uncle Dennis,” is the uncle of Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard.

Robertson is Leonard’s primary career and business strategist who generally avoids speaking publicly, similar to the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

With Leonard leading the Raptors to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history to face the defending champion Golden State Warriors, it appears that last year’s messy divorce from the San Antonio Spurs worked out favorably for the 2014 NBA Finals MVP.

“We’re a humble family and we’re just enjoying the moment,” Robertson told Yahoo Sports on Sunday afternoon via phone interview. “Most people would say it’s vindication, but I’m not sure about that. But it was nice that we kept our mouths shut and just let everything play out. And for Kawhi, to take all the negative press he received and to focus on taking the East and to taking each series game by game, it’s a big deal. Making it to the Finals is a big deal. This is a team that has never been to the Finals and we’re happy about that. It feels good with what we went through last year. We have to be happy. He said it best with all the work he's put into his craft: He’s ready for this moment. What he accomplished was amazing. That’s what stars do. How he’s handled everything on and off the court is well deserved. It was nice to see him fight through all the adversity and he’s earned every minute of this.”

From his dominant defense to hitting the biggest shot in Raptors history, Leonard has piled up heroic moments in his one postseason with the club.

The 6-foot-7 forward has been the difference-maker the Raptors desperately needed, but the joy the organization is experiencing is because of the joy that was lost last season.

Leonard and Robertson have never openly addressed why the three-time All-Star requested a trade from the Spurs last offseason. For much of the 2017-18 season, Leonard battled a right quad injury and it limited him to just nine games.

Over time, the Spurs’ medical staff cleared him to play. Leonard sought a second opinion from an outside source and it was recommended that he continued rehabbing. The organization’s position caused teammates to question if Leonard had ulterior motives. That — along with constant leaks to the media detailing how frustrated the Spurs were with the ordeal — was the beginning of the end of a relationship that had otherwise been relatively healthy for six years.

Robertson revealed why it was time for Leonard to go elsewhere.

“I think it just became a lack of trust,” Robertson told Yahoo Sports. “They didn’t believe Kawhi couldn’t play and that caused a lack of trust in us and then us not believing in them. Any time a player says he’s not capable of playing, you should believe him. Why would Kawhi just stop playing all of a sudden? He’s a compe or. Sometimes you get these team doctors telling you what you can and cannot do, and Kawhi was just in too much pain to get out there. This was a serious issue. They didn’t believe him, and after that, the relationship couldn’t recover and we decided we had to move on.”

[Man Mountain]

“I think it just became a lack of trust,” Robertson told Yahoo Sports. “They didn’t believe Kawhi couldn’t play and that caused a lack of trust in us and then us not believing in them. Any time a player says he’s not capable of playing, you should believe him. Why would Kawhi just stop playing all of a sudden? He’s a compe or. Sometimes you get these team doctors telling you what you can and cannot do, and Kawhi was just in too much pain to get out there. This was a serious issue. They didn’t believe him, and after that, the relationship couldn’t recover and we decided we had to move on.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/kawhi-leona...222416017.html

[Geo210SpursSanAnto.]

Perfect timing for #2... Uncle fester forgot to mention #2 is still a made pussy who cant take criticism and hides from his employer in east coast cities..

[tony65fb]

Can Timvp or mospur say what really happened already

[r0drig0lac]

[Realdeal1]

As I said in the other thread .. uncle Dennis waited until AFTER Kahwi made the finals to get the last word /push his narrative against the Spurs .. asshole

[Barfunk]

That dude needs his ass whooped.

[Realdeal1]

Uncle Dennis better hope nephew beats the warriors cause if not .. Spurs fans will get the last word thats for sure ��

[RC_Drunkford]

nothing new under the sun. He could definitely play. Really need that inside info from TimVP, this still a mystery

[spurs50_]

It was always about getting his Cash Cow to L.A. .

[Uriel]

If I had to guess what inside info timvp had, it would be something along the lines of the Spurs' ownership group saying something really nasty about Kawhi that made him feel disrespected, and the Spurs manipulating the media to advance their narrative.

[Degoat]

If I had to guess it’s that kawhi is a big fat pussy lol

[slick'81]

Well there you have it guys! We can all move on now

[Realdeal1]

Uncle Dennis probably annoyed / pissed off Spurs ownership with his bs .. Spurs ownership then probably said something about uncle Dennis to Kawhi along the lines of " be your own man / keep uncle Dennis out of your/our business" etc and kawhi got offended and sided with his uncle / family then uncle Dennis got in nephews ear to leave the Spurs and started telling him " Spurs are too controlling / pop doesn't respect you / etc etc and then the injury happened which then gave uncle Dennis an excuse and it just got worse worse as the season went on

[Twisted_Dawg]

Well there you have it guys! We can all move on now

Yeah after another 50+ KL threads of 200 pages each.

[Twisted_Dawg]

Uncle left out the part about trying to get a front office job with the Spurs.

[exstatic]

He played in China on a promotional tour, and then shut it down when he got back. made.

[Spurtacular]

Kawhi's a little who ripped the Spurs off for $19 million. That would be one thing; but this er wants to be the victim now.

[timvp]

nothing new under the sun. He could definitely play. Really need that inside info from TimVP, this still a mystery

The mistrust surrounding the injury definitely played a prominent role; Uncle Dennis isn't lying about that. It's difficult to point to the exact piece of hay that broke the camel's back but this was up there.

However, the downfall was actually many years in the making. There are layers to it.

The reason I don't say more is that to do so, I'd have to name names. There are like four or five prominent people right in the middle of the drama that media members don't really mention -- or only mention peripherally. Even if I drop vague hints, it'd take ST about five minutes to guess the names.

Everyone I've emailed with regarding further details has come to the same conclusion: not worth the consequences. The people involved would deny it and there's a good chance of being blackballed.

That said, I know some of the ESPN decision makers are now weighing whether to divulge more. With the Raptors in the Finals, they know it'd be a huge story that could be worth the blowback. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance they'll publish it in the next week.

[Play Boban]

The mistrust surrounding the injury definitely played a prominent role; Uncle Dennis isn't lying about that. It's difficult to point to the exact piece of hay that broke the camel's back but this was up there.

However, the downfall was actually many years in the making. There are layers to it.

The reason I don't say more is that to do so, I'd have to name names. There are like four or five prominent people right in the middle of the drama that media members don't really mention -- or only mention peripherally. Even if I drop vague hints, it'd take ST about five minutes to guess the names.

Everyone I've emailed with regarding further details has come to the same conclusion: not worth the consequences. The people involved would deny it and there's a good chance of being blackballed.

That said, I know some of the ESPN decision makers are now weighing whether to divulge more. With the Raptors in the Finals, they know it'd be a huge story that could be worth the blowback. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance they'll publish it in the next week.

I hope they publish tbh.

[Trainwreck2100]

The mistrust surrounding the injury definitely played a prominent role; Uncle Dennis isn't lying about that. It's difficult to point to the exact piece of hay that broke the camel's back but this was up there.

However, the downfall was actually many years in the making. There are layers to it.

The reason I don't say more is that to do so, I'd have to name names. There are like four or five prominent people right in the middle of the drama that media members don't really mention -- or only mention peripherally. Even if I drop vague hints, it'd take ST about five minutes to guess the names.

Everyone I've emailed with regarding further details has come to the same conclusion: not worth the consequences. The people involved would deny it and there's a good chance of being blackballed.

That said, I know some of the ESPN decision makers are now weighing whether to divulge more. With the Raptors in the Finals, they know it'd be a huge story that could be worth the blowback. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance they'll publish it in the next week.

I couldn't believe they held it in during the ECF. Even an uncorroborated account of the situation would be gold for them.

[apalisoc_9]

The Spurs were clearly partly to blame. They treated the best player in the world like hes tobias harris or something

[daslicer]

The mistrust surrounding the injury definitely played a prominent role; Uncle Dennis isn't lying about that. It's difficult to point to the exact piece of hay that broke the camel's back but this was up there.

However, the downfall was actually many years in the making. There are layers to it.

The reason I don't say more is that to do so, I'd have to name names. There are like four or five prominent people right in the middle of the drama that media members don't really mention -- or only mention peripherally. Even if I drop vague hints, it'd take ST about five minutes to guess the names.

Everyone I've emailed with regarding further details has come to the same conclusion: not worth the consequences. The people involved would deny it and there's a good chance of being blackballed.

That said, I know some of the ESPN decision makers are now weighing whether to divulge more. With the Raptors in the Finals, they know it'd be a huge story that could be worth the blowback. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance they'll publish it in the next week.

Obviously you won't reveal those 4-5 people and I don't blame you for keeping it secret. The fact ESPN doesn't want to mention those 4-5 people makes me believe that #2 was more at fault since ESPN is all about protecting NBA superstar's reputations. They gain more by releasing the truth if it destroys the Spurs more so than if it destroys #2's rep. I remember hearing how ESPN was doing a story on how Magic treated Laker employees like and then stopping the story from being released simply because the league told them not to release it.

[BWS-1994]

The mistrust surrounding the injury definitely played a prominent role; Uncle Dennis isn't lying about that. It's difficult to point to the exact piece of hay that broke the camel's back but this was up there.

However, the downfall was actually many years in the making. There are layers to it.

The reason I don't say more is that to do so, I'd have to name names. There are like four or five prominent people right in the middle of the drama that media members don't really mention -- or only mention peripherally. Even if I drop vague hints, it'd take ST about five minutes to guess the names.

Everyone I've emailed with regarding further details has come to the same conclusion: not worth the consequences. The people involved would deny it and there's a good chance of being blackballed.

That said, I know some of the ESPN decision makers are now weighing whether to divulge more. With the Raptors in the Finals, they know it'd be a huge story that could be worth the blowback. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance they'll publish it in the next week.

I wonder if past players are involved?

[khantot]

Why y'all still whining? Move on. The guy's not here anymore. We suck, Toronto rocks. End of story