Is Kawhi Leonard Done in San Antonio?

Writer: Jameson White

By now, most have heard of the ongoing drama between the San Antonio Spurs and their superstar wing, Kawhi Leonard. After an off-season of dealing with injuries, Leonard looked poised to have another huge season in 2017-2018. However, quadriceps tendinopathy has sidelined the star forward for all but nine games this season, with him yet again taking a trip to New York to seek further help. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has called this injury “unusual,” saying that he has also “never seen an injury quite like [Leonard’s].”

Credit to NJ.com

Season-long drama has gone down in the ironically and usually drama-free Spurs, with reports surfacing of a rift coming between Leonard and the organization, as well as a players-only meeting led by Tony Parker, and with what has happened, we could be seeing the end of Kawhi’s time in San Antonio. He is usually quite a reserved player, known for being non-vocal and showing no emotion, so who knows where he stands with San Antonio. One source said that Leonard would like to “finish his career in San Antonio.” Other reports also came out stating his desire to be traded from the franchise this off-season, meaning we could be in for a summer of players moving to drastically different cities.

Spurs All-Star forward Lamarcus Aldridge requested a trade this previous summer, stating that he did not feel comfortable with the way his talents were being utilized. After sitting down with Popovich, Aldridge was convinced of a new role with the team, as well as granted a 3-year $72 contract extension to stay with San Antonio. The same could happen with Kawhi Leonard this summer, as he is eligible for a supermax deal for 5-years and over $200 million. If Leonard decides to not sign this extension, we will almost definitely know his stance on staying in the Alamo City.

A Kawhi-Spurs Seperation Isn’t Good For Anyone

Writer: Caleb Akpan

The Kawhi Leonard Vs. San Antonio Spurs saga has been quite easily the strangest story of the NBA season. After 20 years of little to no controversy, the San Antonio Spurs have been at the top of NBA news all year long for being at odds with their top star. Leonard has been dealing with a quad injury almost all season long, he has conflicted with the Spurs franchise over his return and how healthy he actually is. Initially, the issue seemed to be between Leonard’s personal doctors and the Spurs doctors regarding the injury, but now there just seems to be a disconnect overall on Leonard’s relationship with the franchise, to the point where many are beginning to rumor him being traded this summer. A breakup between the two sides would be shocking, and if it did happen, there’s almost no way it could benefit either party.

Eric Gay/AP

To start things off, Leonard is perfect for a place like San Antonio. A quiet, almost robotic kind of guy, Leonard works in a small enough market like San Antonio. The South Texas city iso big enough to have a loyal fanbase for a franchise and respected enough to get national recognition. Leonard can live in peace there while still being seen on TV every week and becoming a household name. Many have said the Claw may end up in a New York or Los Angeles, and while the bright lights may be good for some, there’s almost no way Leonard would take advantage of his environment.

Rumor has it that the young star wants to be in a bigger market to help with his endorsements deals, but is Leonard that marketable of a player anyways? Moving to a new city isn’t going to magically change his personality, but if these rumors are true, Leonard seems to have the mindset of a kid going off to college. He may think that he can show up in a new place and become a new person, but the odds are, things like Leonard’s introverted nature will never change, that’s just who he is. Plus, he’s clearly good enough to warrant endorsement no matter where he plays, it’s on the advertisers and companies to make the most of their clients, the pressure shouldn’t be on Leonard to make a change, especially one that could hurt him.

On the flip side, there’s simply no benefit for the Spurs to trade Leonard, their absolute best player, with another year on his contract. Leonard has already lead the franchise to a championship in just his third year, and since then, he’s only gotten better, improving his stats every season until this injury-riddled 2018. There’s no way the Spurs could get back equal value to Leonard in a trade, and even if they somehow did, it’s tough to think that someone would fit into the Spurs system as well as Kawhi had up to this point.

Leonard was the perfect dedicated, almost obsessive kind of player to learn from a legendary coach like Gregg Popovich and hall of famers like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. There’s little to no chance the people they bring in are as willing to learn and commit, it would at best be a growing pains experiment on par with what the team went through with LaMarcus Aldridge until this season, where both sides seem to be excelling in harmony with Kawhi’s absence. That harmony is another reason that it’s best for he franchise to hold onto Leonard, combining him with a smoothly-aging Aldridge could put the Spurs right back in the Western Conference FInals, the last place Leonard was seen truly healthy.

If any franchise can mend a strained relationship with their star, it seems that would be the Spurs, and players on the team like Danny Green already want fans to know things aren’t as they seem in the news. But, even if they are, things should be OK. This year may be lost, but Leonard isn’t even close to being old at just 26, many would say he hasn’t even reached his prime. Despite losing their 50-win season streak, NBA fans would be stupid to think the Spurs are going anywhere, as long as they have Leonard with them. Maybe an Aldridge-esque stidown with Coach Pop will be needed, but be sure that the Spurs will fight tooth and nail before they even think about losing their franchise player.

What Kawhi’s Return Means For The Spurs

Writer: Jameson White

It has been rumored that Kawhi is eyeing his return to the San Antonio Spurs next Tuesday, December 12th. He has been out for all of the preseason and regular season, thus far, with quadriceps tendinopathy.

Credit: SLAMonline

Kawhi Leonard, when healthy, is without a doubt one of the best five players in the entire NBA. His combination of length, height, athleticism, all-time great perimeter defense, and near unstoppable offense gives the Spurs a weapon that allows them to compete with any team in the league; as if the silver and black could not already do that.

San Antonio, in Leonard’s absence, is currently sitting in third place in the Western Conference standings. They are one of the only genuine contenders in the NBA already and adding back a superstar can only make them better. The Spurs have struggled in offensive efficiency this season, which is a huge part of the robot in Kawhi Leonard’s game, as he is known as one of the most efficient players in the game.

Credit: NBA.com

Defensively, San Antonio is yet again near the top in almost every defensive category. They have discovered even more defensive stoppers on their roster, as Kyle Anderson, Brandon Paul, and Rudy Gay have become lockdown defenders. With a two-time Defensive Player of the Year returning, the Spurs will be improving even more on defense.

With Danny Green’s enhanced off-the-dribble game to complement his already astounding three-point shooting and defensive stopping ability, Rudy Gay’s elite scoring and much-improved perimeter defense, and a two-way superstar in Kawhi Leonard returning, San Antonio now has a lineup that can terrorize opposing offenses on the perimeter. In the NBA where teams are shooting three’s more than ever (i.e., Houston and Golden State), San Antonio now has the personnel back to match up perfectly with any team in the association.