The San Antonio Spurs returned from All Star break to get started on their second half of the regular season and news regarding Kawhi Leonard injury has not changed. The Spurs sit 3rd in the Western Conference standings with Kawhi only having played 9 games because of a rare quad injury and a tear in his shoulder which occurred once he returned to action back in January.
According to Michael C Wright of ESPN via Bleacher Report, Popovich mentions, “We’ve got to move on” in regards to Kawhi potentially missing the rest of the season.
The Spurs are known for their next man up approach to handling their players and injuries. It is always a destination for players who want to maximize the health of their bodies during a taxing NBA season. This latest update in Kawhi injury poses the question, as to whether Kawhi and the Spurs are perhaps not in accordance with how the injury is being handled?
Furthermore Kawhi is eligible to opt out of his contract in the 2019 offseason and possibly explore his free agency and visit other franchises for a better situation. We are seeing more player movement where players are not as worried about losing the extra year that only your current team is allowed to offer when resigning. The fifth year doesn’t guarantee you’ll remain on the team as we saw the Clippers move on from Blake Griffin after he just re signed for 5 years this past offseason. Kawhi’s relationship with the Spurs is one to keep an eye on moving forward.