Kawhi Leonard is willing to stay with the San Antonio Spurs. He’s even open to signing a long-term extension with them.
He just wants a promise from head coach Gregg Popovich that certain things are going to change.
Apparently.
From the New York Daily News‘ Frank Isola:
“Don’t you have to sign him,” asks one rival executive. “From what I understand, he wants (Gregg) Popovich to lighten up a little with practice and tweak some things. The Spurs may not want to change their ways, but this is Kawhi Leonard we’re talking about.”
Practice is a sufficiently weird thing to cite when talking about the Spurs’ need to lighten up. As the San Antonio Express-News‘ Jeff Platt noted:
https://twitter.com/jeffplatt/status/989558251699220480
This could have just been an example from a rival executive run askew. Or it could just be a rival executive spinning some bull. It could even be someone doing Leonard and, ahem, his group a favor. After all, Leonard’s willingness to sign an extension with the Spurs isn’t really a benevolent act. He’s eligible for the super-duper designated player extension, which would add five years and more than $200 million to his current contract.
Why wouldn’t he want to sign that deal? Even if he’s unhappy in San Antonio, he’s working off a season in which he played just nine games. That financial security means something. And if he is happy with the Spurs, then he’ll most definitely want to sign it. It’s so much money, and he’ll need to re-qualify for it before next summer if he doesn’t get it now.
The message here: Wait for details of a potential meeting between Leonard and the Spurs to leak out before losing your mind over anything. This drama is weird, and it’s most certainly been drawn out, but we’re still a ways from player and team deeming their relationship unsalvageable.
