Report: Kawhi Leonard Planned Return to Spurs After Erin Popovich's Death

San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard reportedly planned to rejoin the team if head coach Gregg Popovich returned to the sideline following the April 18 death of his wife, Erin Popovich.

On Tuesday, Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com reported Leonard decided to stay in New York City to continue his quad rehab as Popovich missed the final three games of the Spurs' first-round playoff loss to the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

The situation between San Antonio and the 2014 NBA Finals MVP has been one of the season's most discussed stories.

Leonard only played nine games during the regular season and didn't make any postseason appearances. He opted to spend most of his time in New York trying to recover rather than remain with the team.

Popovich rarely provided substantial updates about the forward's potential return to the lineup, instead referring reporters to Leonard's "group."

"You'll have to ask Kawhi and his group that question," Popovich said April 15. "So far, they say that he's not ready to go, so we can't do anything until that happens…and then we would have to decide what's going on from there. But that's the first thing that has to happen."

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported last week that Leonard, who has one guaranteed year left on his contract before a player option for 2019-20, wants Popovich to "lighten up a little with practice and tweak some things" before committing to a long-term extension.

Despite the apparent issues between the sides, Leonard's plan to come back if Popovich returned showed an "indication of the strength of their bond," per Shelburne and Wright.

Nevertheless, his status with the organization and potential availability in a trade is likely to become one of the NBA offseason's top storylines.