Kawhi Leonard Rumors: Spurs Star Has Spoken with Officials, Staff in Offseason
Kawhi Leonard and head coach Gregg Popovich will reportedly meet before June 21's NBA draft, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, and it appears the lines of communication between the former Finals MVP and the San Antonio Spurs have already been opened this offseason.
According to Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania, who appeared on Chris Mannix's podcast (h/t Real GM), Leonard interacted with Spurs staffers at the funeral service for Popovich's wife in April:
"Kawhi Leonard didn't necessarily 'go rogue,' despite all the reports. He was working out with San Antonio staffers during the season and now going into the summer, his rehab has continued. He's been around. He went to Gregg Popovich's wife's service shortly after the season ended. People close to him, they made it clear he was there. He interacted with Spurs' officials, with staffers."
Leonard missed all but nine games this past campaign, including the postseason, due to a quad injury. That was at the center of a drama-filled year in San Antonio, with Wojnarowski reporting in March that the Spurs held a players-only meeting to implore him to return for a playoff run.
He did not—and San Antonio wound up as the No. 7 seed. That earned it a matchup with the star-studded Golden State Warriors, which resulted in a series the defending champs won in five games.
After all of that, it was unclear if the two-time All-Star would wear a Spurs uniform again.
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright reported in May that sources around the league believed Leonard's camp was angling to get him traded to a big market, such as Los Angeles, New York or Philadelphia. However, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News later reported the team wanted to meet with him to mend the relationship.
When healthy, Leonard is among the game's best two-way players. The 6'7", 230-pound forward averaged a career-high 25.5 points on 48.5 percent shooting in 2016-17, and he is a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
This offseason will be key for both Leonard and San Antonio. He is under contract for $20 million next season but can opt out of the remaining year in his deal to hit the open market next summer. On the other hand, the Spurs can offer him a supermax deal of five years and more than $200 million this summer.
Leonard, per Charania, has taken a professional approach this offseason. Popovich managed to convince a disgruntled LaMarcus Aldridge to stay in San Antonio a few years back, but it's unclear where things stand with Leonard.
