Kawhi Leonard Skynard: A Simple Man

July 31, 2018

Kawhi Leonard Skynard: A Simple Man

On July 18, 2018 analysts around the NBA reported Spurs’ forward, Kawhi Leonard was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Demar DeRozan.  Of course the NBA world wasn’t too shocked since it had been reported since the beginning of June that Leonard wanted out of San Antonio. 

For so long this had been a mystery around the league, well the question why that is.  Kawhi Leonard was the Spurs’ Super-Star forward and the NBA’s best two-way player when healthy.  And it didn’t look like either of those two things was going to change anytime soon.  During the 2017-2018 season Kawhi Leonard only played nine games.  When questions were raised as to why Leonard was not made available, the Spurs responded that he had been cleared for all basketball activity, and did not know why he was not playing.  Kawhi sought the front office and asked for a second opinion on his quad injury, which he had gotten from a collision with ZaZa Pachulia. —Resulting in Pachulia reinjuring his ankle, which he had acquired from a previous playoff game against the Rockets in game five, in the last minutes of the fourth quarter.  Leonard’s then ankle injury extended to his quad, which kept him out the remainder of the playoffs and also the first part of the 2017-2018 season.  During his nine game stint with the team he felt as though his injury was still lingering.

What’s really going on?

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

After spending 10 days before the All-Star break in New York consulting with a specialist to gather a second opinion on his right quad injury, All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard bears the burden of determining when he’s prepared to play again, sources told ESPN.

Leonard has been medically cleared to return from the right quad tendinopathy injury, but since shutting down a nine-game return to the Spurs that ended Jan. 13, he has elected against returning to the active roster, sources said.

The uncertainty surrounding this season — and Leonard’s future which could include free agency in the summer of 2019 — has inspired a palpable stress around the organization, league sources said.

 On January 23, 2018 Jalen Rose said on First Take that Leonard wants to leave San Antonio.

“ . . . And also the way his injury situation was handled. You see him in the lineup, you see him out of the lineup. Is it his quad? What’s going on with his history? Was he misdiagnosed?

Will we look back on at this situation with his injury kind of like we’re doing with the Boston Celtics? Remember, the Celtics fired their entire staff as it related to how Isaiah Thomas’ injury was being handled because his hip was misdiagnosed.”

Seems Kawhi Leonard took the misdiagnosis quite seriously.  As should any player of his skill and caliber.  As reported by Jalen Rose, when you look back on Isaiah Thomas ‘injury, maybe had it been handled differently he would not have had to sign for the veteran’s minimum with the Denver Nuggets and would have instead been able to cash in on his $20 million pay day.  That tragedy has it’s own storyline. 

Jabari Young of MySA also reported that this was not the first misdiagnosis.

And According to ESPN‘s Michael C. Wright, an earlier misdiagnosis from 2014 may have been where this all started.

“Despite being eligible to receive a five-year super max extension this summer worth $221 million from the Spurs, Leonard wanted out of San Antonio for myriad reasons. He felt betrayed by the team for the handling of the quadriceps injury that kept him out of all but nine games last season — plus, Leonard’s camp believes the Spurs misdiagnosed a 2014 wrist injury as well — and also for the resistance encountered from the franchise when seeking outside opinions. Not to mention what seemed to be public questioning of the situation by members of the organization, with sources saying the forward had been medically cleared to play since December.”

Kawhi Leonard is a Super-Star on any team.  The Spur’s felt it more to save the face of their organization and medical staff rather than back their star-forward.  They conveyed to Kawhi how they truly valued him in comparison to the overall whole of the Spurs.  While other super-stars are, well at least given the best medical treatment, Kawhi Leonard found his accommodations landing short of this, and felt like he could not put his complete trust in them.  He wanted out and had every reason to.  But he never spoke out against the Spurs and never complained about the simplicity San Antonio had to offer him.  He even once said he’d like to stay with the Spurs forever.  Truthfully he handled the situation quite well and in the best interest of his health and body, especially if he has to retain his crown, as the best two-way player in the league.  Kawhi simply wanted better medical treatment, and no more misdiagnoses.