This is why I agree with what Barkley said and also the reason I have no problem with the guys on the team asking him if he plans to play. If Kawhi's sitting out for his next contract, then what about the 19M he is getting paid to play now.
It's ing ridiculous how much money these guys want or need. The Spurs would have a shot at a Championship with Kawhi, maybe not a big one, but they'd have a shot. Isn't that what most people play for? That's my main concern/priority if I was playing. If I was told that it won't cause any long term damage by playing on a particular injury and I felt my team had a chance at the Championship (even if it's a small one), you can bet your ass I'd be out there on the court. I could maybe understand him sitting out if they have no shot at a le as you never know if the doctors are right or not, but IMO they do have one. Isaiah Thomas probably thought the Celtics had a chance to beat the Cavs and I think it was worth playing, and I'm sure he did too at the time. My reasoning is that you never know how many chances you'll get to play for a Championship, so you shouldn't throw away any opportunity to do so. You can't cry about it after the series is over and then say you regret playing. Live with it an move on. How much money do these guys need? To top all that off, even if you do sit out, you could get an even worse injury later on and never have a chance to play for a Championship ever again.
Manu and Tony were right to ask Kawhi because both of these guys have always tried to get back to the court as soon as possible after any type of injury. I'm pretty sure that they are absolutely stunned on why he's continuing to sit out. They've both played through pain. They can't really fathom what Kawhi is doing. One example, looking back at the 2015 Clippers series, it seems like TP's hamstring was screwed and he probably shouldn't have been playing at all, yet he didn't want to sit out and continued to play. Meanwhile, Kawhi choked it up in the last few games of the series and instead of helping out TP who probably shouldn't have been playing, Kawhi seemed healthy and still vanished. YOU ING BET YOUR ASS THESE GUYS WERE RIGHT TO ASK KAWHI WHAT THE IS GOING ON.
All those former players that are commenting on it without knowing the FULL details can go F themselves too. Stephen Jackson, Cris Carter (I know he was a great wide receiver), Shannon Sharpe (another great player) have their opinions, but in all honesty I don't rate any of those guys above Manu Ginobili, so IMO Manu can say whatever the he wants. If that hurt Kawhi's feelings, too bad. Manu's played with all kinds of injuries and one example is - even with a broken arm in the 2011 playoffs, he was still the best player on the court in the series against the Grizzlies. Would Kawhi play with a broken arm? These guys (I'm sure of it) are mind blown that Kawhi is sitting out with the specific injury (it doesn't seem serious enough to hold him out) he has, so that's why they wanted to know what is going on.
Maybe Kawhi really is hurt and maybe he really is struggling, but if that is the case, he needs to open his mouth and talk. It's his own fault for being a freaking mute and saying nothing on the subject. He should have told them how he's feeling and what is going on. I'm one of the biggest Kawhi fans around, as I think last season with all the work he'd done throughout the years, it all paid off as he really turned himself into a legit Superstar, but I'm also starting to get mad at him. Duncan2K5 has started to piss me off with all his recent posts too. Kawhi has brought most of this upon himself IMO.