Kawhi Leonard has told his circle that he no longer wants to play for the San Antonio Spurs and would prefer to be traded to a Los Angeles team preferably the Lakers. Leonard is still under contract for next season and is eligible to sign a super max deal that could pay him up to $200 million after his contract will expire at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season.
Many have given their opinions and speculated on what could have caused Kawhi to want to leave arguably one of the greatest coaches (Gregg Popovich) the NBA has seen. Leonard played in all but nine games this past season due to a lingering quad injury. Speculations have been made that he felt he was misdiagnosed by the Spurs medical staff and felt alienated by teammates who questioned the severity of his injury privately. This is also led to Leonard doing his rehab in New York during the season and also while the team was battling the Warriors in the playoffs.
ESPN is reporting Ex-Spurs Bruce Bowen added his own take on the situation and believes that Kawhi is getting bad advice regarding his desire to want to be traded. He also feels that he was shielded and had less responsibilities with the presence of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili early in his career.He goes on to say:
Bruce Bowen, who won three titles with the San Antonio Spurs, took Kawhi Leonard to task for his dealings with the team this year, saying “there’s nothing but excuses going on.”
Speaking on Sirius XM NBA Radio Thursday night, Bowen said. “First, it was, ‘Well I was misdiagnosed.’ Look here: You got $18 million this year, and you think that they’re trying to rush you? You didn’t play for the most part a full season this year. And you’re the go-to guy, you’re the franchise, and you want to say that they didn’t have your best interest at heart? Are you kidding me?”
It was reported that Gregg Popovich flew out to California to meet with Kawhi Leonard and discuss his frustrations in hopes of salvaging their relationship. The Spurs have made it clear that although Kawhi wants out of town they’re going to do their best to resolve their issues but will keep all options on the table.