It has been an interesting season for the San Antonio Spurs. The team and Kawhi Leonard seem to be at opposite ends when it comes to his injury and now their relationship is fractured. Will he return to San Antonio next season? That’s the biggest question heading into the offseason.
Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright have been following the story for months and published a story about what happened between Leonard and the Spurs and there were some nuggets in there aside from the history of how things got this far.
Aside from Leonard’s representatives forcing second opinions and not trusting the Spurs medical staff, there is a growing concern that Kawhi will be forcing a trade:
Multiple league sources also told ESPN that the Spurs have grown worried that Leonard’s group has an ulterior motive to fray the relationship and get Leonard traded to a larger market such as Los Angeles (Leonard’s hometown) or New York or Philadelphia (Robertson lives in New Jersey).
Out of those three cities, the Philadelphia 76ers have the most assets to send to the Spurs for a Top 5 player in the NBA. It would be a shock if Gregg Popovich sent Leonard to a Western Conference rival like the Los Angeles Lakers, so the New York Knicks appear to have somewhat of an appeal to the Spurs, even though they might not have as much assets as the Sixers.
Said another league source with direct knowledge of the situation, “Kawhi is the same person. The only thing that has changed about him is the people speaking for him now.”
The Spurs and Leonard (plus his representatives) will be meeting soon to discuss contractual extensions and how both sides can move forward from the fray that has been caused over the past couple of months. San Antonio is hoping they can resolve things and get back to their championship ways.
You can read the full story over at ESPN.