***OFFICIAL KAWHI RELATED NEWS Thread***

[spursparker9]

1 more win and Nephew is the 3rd best SF of all time. Only behind Lebron and KD.

[picnroll]

When kwitter wins a le, is named finals MVP AND then moves on to the Clippers anyways next year will Spurs fan realize there was nothing Spurs’ front office could do and kwitter was going to make a move to get to LA no matter what they did?

[John B]

That pnr defense, 3pt closeups, ball movement, trust your team. Geez it’s like watching Spurs

[Millennial_Messiah]

you couldn’t pay me to live in either state tbh

but you'd move for free to california? Enjoy going broke

[InRareForm]

1 more win and Nephew is the 3rd best SF of all time. Only behind Lebron and KD.

I think kawhi has a case to be ahead of KD

[Gamechannel]

Every game the Raps win, I get nightmares..

As a lifelong Spurs fan who calls Toronto home, I absolutely hate to see Kawhi keep winning and the annoying as Raps fans gloating about their We the north BS.

Kawhi. That's all I can say. He went from my favorite player to my most hated after the he and Dennis pulled off.

I was so hoping they'd lose, but Karma isn't a after all.

[UZER]

I have a friend close to the Popovich family. One thread that has been mentioned but which may not get enough emphasis is how Kawhi’s handlers came to realize just how big Kawhi can be (China trip, etc).

Yes, Uncle and co. were rank amateurs, so they began requesting all manner of nonsense. But the Spurs were unprepared. Uncle legitimately saw other franchises, say Houston or LA, had much more infrastructure for promoting their stars and giving them commercial opportunities. They also provided more “star treatment”.

I’m now speculating, but it seems the Spurs were slow to make the connection, and their “culture” in this instance led them to be dismissive. It wasn’t helped by Uncle’s amateurish approach. But a smarter organization may have been more cautious and accommodating, and taken the concerns of Kawhi’s most trusted figure more seriously.

Add the above to the mix of injuries and other personal things (as Timvp has alluded to), and you can break a relationship. Uncle played a long game but I am not convinced he wouldn’t have made a different decision had the org done things differently. I’m still annoyed by Pop’s “no comment, no looking back” speech at the season’s commencement, because it means no accountability. Curious for an org built on it.

Anyway, I’m still rooting for Kawhi and happy to see the Warriors get smashed. At the beginning of the season, I called the Raptors my favorite to win it all; I was laughed at by many! But I remembered 2017.

This is a exactly what so many on this board keep alluding to and why so many of us are pissed. We don’t have proof, but have seen the behavior of PATFO for years that matches this theory. The injury mishandling just broke the camels back.

The “culture” signings to the detriment of the team are a real thing. And Pop himself said he would prefer Kawhi to only average between 22-24 points a game. Who ing does that to their superstar?! Tim and Manu were an anomaly. With all the winning, Pop got drunk on his ability to get them to do whatever he wanted.

He doesn’t care about winning as much anymore as many on this board can see from a mile away. It’s all about “muh culture” these days.

The guy and his ego have just become bigger than the team and nobody has the balls to tell him to straighten the up or retire. He shouldn’t be fired because of his legacy. But he should be strongly urged to retire.

I root for the San Antonio Spurs, not the San Antonio Pops.

[TDomination]

The Warriors have been god awful and totally compromised by injury. Let's be honest, the Warriors are currently playing like a bunch of washed up YMCA losers. A pathetic showing.

Funny how teams can lose when your best player is out.

They were due. Bout time they get injured.

Sucks its against Kawhi though.

[TDomination]

This just makes me more convinced we had a legit chance in 17 if Kawhi wasn't taken out.. Aldridge was killing them too when the attention was on Kawhi. Oh well, no point in dwelling on that.

Kawhi is a monster, best player in the league, he's having a goat playoff run, just unbelievable.

I've said this before too.
Zaza should've gotten NBA Finals MVP that year. He changed the course of history with his foot.

[timtonymanu]

I have a friend close to the Popovich family. One thread that has been mentioned but which may not get enough emphasis is how Kawhi’s handlers came to realize just how big Kawhi can be (China trip, etc).

Yes, Uncle and co. were rank amateurs, so they began requesting all manner of nonsense. But the Spurs were unprepared. Uncle legitimately saw other franchises, say Houston or LA, had much more infrastructure for promoting their stars and giving them commercial opportunities. They also provided more “star treatment”.

I’m now speculating, but it seems the Spurs were slow to make the connection, and their “culture” in this instance led them to be dismissive. It wasn’t helped by Uncle’s amateurish approach. But a smarter organization may have been more cautious and accommodating, and taken the concerns of Kawhi’s most trusted figure more seriously.

Add the above to the mix of injuries and other personal things (as Timvp has alluded to), and you can break a relationship. Uncle played a long game but I am not convinced he wouldn’t have made a different decision had the org done things differently. I’m still annoyed by Pop’s “no comment, no looking back” speech at the season’s commencement, because it means no accountability. Curious for an org built on it.

Anyway, I’m still rooting for Kawhi and happy to see the Warriors get smashed. At the beginning of the season, I called the Raptors my favorite to win it all; I was laughed at by many! But I remembered 2017.

but it was all Kawhi's fault. In PATFO we trust.

[SpurPadre]

I wonder if Pop is punching air or DeRozan

Neither. He's chillin' at Napa drinking some quality Pinot Noir, tbh.

[Gamechannel]

This is a exactly what so many on this board keep alluding to and why so many of us are pissed. We don’t have proof, but have seen the behavior of PATFO for years that matches this theory. The injury mishandling just broke the camels back.

The “culture” signings to the detriment of the team are a real thing. And Pop himself said he would prefer Kawhi to only average between 22-24 points a game. Who ing does that to their superstar?! Tim and Manu were an anomaly. With all the winning, Pop got drunk on his ability to get them to do whatever he wanted.

He doesn’t care about winning as much anymore as many on this board can see from a mile away. It’s all about “muh culture” these days.

The guy and his ego have just become bigger than the team and nobody has the balls to tell him to straighten the up or retire. He shouldn’t be fired because of his legacy. But he should be strongly urged to retire.

I root for the San Antonio Spurs, not the San Antonio Pops.

Regardless of what happened, who did what to hurt Kawhi's fragile ego, the fact remains that the f****r quit on his team. End of. If you have disagreements with your coach, you sort it out like a man. Not hide behind the excuse of injury and let your uncle handle for you. Be a man and talk to your coach face to face. Dude wasn't even on the ing bench in street clothes supporting his team. He quit plain and simple.

[Genovaswitness]

but you'd move for free to california? Enjoy going broke

over Michigan and Pennsylvania? yeah. Texas over everything thiugh

[TDomination]

Question: Does Toronto get this far without Danny Green?
If we kept Danny and lets say Poeltl stayed too. And it was just a Kawhi for Demar plus 1st pick.


IMO, no. Danny is a key roleplayer that helped us in 13 and in 14. When he disappeared, the team disappeared. He was vital to our success offensively but more importantly defensively.

With that said, I'm more upset we got rid of Danny in this trade. Even though he wasn't playing as well, it was still a contract year coming up. There was a good chance his game would have improved. But thats all speculation. Wish we would've kept him though.

[dbreiden83080]

I've said this before too.
Zaza should've gotten NBA Finals MVP that year. He changed the course of history with his foot.

And I said at the time, the Spurs needed to take Curry out. Old school NBA that little dude was getting cracked hard after ZA ZA did what he did..

[Leetonidas]

Asterisk le anyway. Not like I feel sorry at all for GS but Leonard winning a le against an injury decimated team is an asterisk le imo. Just like warriors in 2015

[TDomination]

Asterisk le anyway. Not like I feel sorry at all for GS but Leonard winning a le against an injury decimated team is an asterisk le imo. Just like warriors in 2015

And warriors in 17 (Kawhi injury) and Warriors in 18 (Chris paul injury)

Just like we've seen in the past, with Championships, you just need a lot of breaks to go your way. Injuries for other teams (no injuries for your team). Ball bouncing your way. You need to be good of course, but need to be lucky as well.

[Leetonidas]

And warriors in 17 (Kawhi injury) and Warriors in 18 (Chris paul injury)

Just like we've seen in the past, with Championships, you just need a lot of breaks to go your way. Injuries for other teams (no injuries for your team). Ball bouncing your way. You need to be good of course, but need to be lucky as well.

I get that but when one of the teams is missing their best player and 2 of their starters have missed time along with their 6th man playing injured....that's more than luck imo

[UZER]

Regardless of what happened, who did what to hurt Kawhi's fragile ego, the fact remains that the f****r quit on his team. End of. If you have disagreements with your coach, you sort it out like a man. Not hide behind the excuse of injury and let your uncle handle for you. Be a man and talk to your coach face to face. Dude wasn't even on the ing bench in street clothes supporting his team. He quit plain and simple.

The Kawhi fiasco is layers deep, but the starting point was what Perry Mason pointed out, and the Spurs and Pop did nothing to address it. The injury handling is the stake that drove him away. I have never excused Kawhis behavior towards the end of the saga. But through the injury mess, something was said or done that pissed Kawhi off so much that he didn’t even want to be in the same room as Pop.

[therealtruth]

Question: Does Toronto get this far without Danny Green?
If we kept Danny and lets say Poeltl stayed too. And it was just a Kawhi for Demar plus 1st pick.


IMO, no. Danny is a key roleplayer that helped us in 13 and in 14. When he disappeared, the team disappeared. He was vital to our success offensively but more importantly defensively.

With that said, I'm more upset we got rid of Danny in this trade. Even though he wasn't playing as well, it was still a contract year coming up. There was a good chance his game would have improved. But thats all speculation. Wish we would've kept him though.

There would have been no point in keeping Green. Pop would bench him in favor of Mills/Bellineli. The Raptors are a better fit.

[spursparker9]

I think kawhi has a case to be ahead of KD

Maybe in the future. But currently, KD is still ahead even if Nephew win the ring for Raptors

[Capt Bringdown]

This is a exactly what so many on this board keep alluding to and why so many of us are pissed. We don’t have proof, but have seen the behavior of PATFO for years that matches this theory. The injury mishandling just broke the camels back.

The “culture” signings to the detriment of the team are a real thing. And Pop himself said he would prefer Kawhi to only average between 22-24 points a game. Who ing does that to their superstar?! Tim and Manu were an anomaly. With all the winning, Pop got drunk on his ability to get them to do whatever he wanted.

He doesn’t care about winning as much anymore as many on this board can see from a mile away. It’s all about “muh culture” these days.

The guy and his ego have just become bigger than the team and nobody has the balls to tell him to straighten the up or retire. He shouldn’t be fired because of his legacy. But he should be strongly urged to retire.

I root for the San Antonio Spurs, not the San Antonio Pops.

Well said.
It's apparent that the Spurs didn't know what they had with Leonard: a potential all-time great. Leonard is poised to win his second FMVP.

When you've got an all-time great, you move mountains to keep him. Because we may never see the likes of Leonard again.

[Dennis the Menace]

This is a exactly what so many on this board keep alluding to and why so many of us are pissed. We don’t have proof, but have seen the behavior of PATFO for years that matches this theory. The injury mishandling just broke the camels back.

The “culture” signings to the detriment of the team are a real thing. And Pop himself said he would prefer Kawhi to only average between 22-24 points a game. Who ing does that to their superstar?! Tim and Manu were an anomaly. With all the winning, Pop got drunk on his ability to get them to do whatever he wanted.

He doesn’t care about winning as much anymore as many on this board can see from a mile away. It’s all about “muh culture” these days.

The guy and his ego have just become bigger than the team and nobody has the balls to tell him to straighten the up or retire. He shouldn’t be fired because of his legacy. But he should be strongly urged to retire.

I root for the San Antonio Spurs, not the San Antonio Pops.

Preach.

[daslicer]

After the finals is over it's time to move on from this saga. Spurs are not the first organization to lose a player of #2's caliber and it won't be the last. They just joined OKC,Cleveland,Orlando,Milwaukee.

[SpursBig3s]

If, at any point, the Spurs decided they didn't want to offer the supermax because of advice from the medical team...all blame should be off Kawhi tbh....

Sure, he handled it in the giest way possible but there's about 2-3 players in the league worth the supermax no matter what and if the Spurs/medical staff were to stupid to see that then props to Kawhi and his group for proving how stupid they were tbh.....

Doesn't matter if he sits 70 games during the regular season, what you're seeing from him this postseason run is worth it, easy.

The blame is NOT completely off Kawhi. he shoulder's the majority of it. other than that I completely agree with you. KAwhi is a ing , but that ass is Kobe Bryant level reincarnated and is worth every penny of 220 million. If the spurs honestly thought they could pull a Duncan and try and get him to take less, that is monumentally stupid. There won't ever be another star with Duncan/Manu/Dirk's mindset. you swallow your pride and make that got say no to 200 + million