Kawhi Leonard is back!
Sort of.
Well, not really.
With rumors of discord between Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs organization continuing to swirl, the two time Defensive Player of the Year has returned to the city after spending most of his time rehabbing in New York, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes. Leonard just doesn’t, it seems, have any plans to meet with the team:
ESPN Sources: Spurs All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard and advisor are in San Antonio. Leonard spent nearly six weeks in New York rehabbing his injury. For the moment, there’s no scheduled date to meet with Spurs’ brass.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 2, 2018
So, um, I guess this is a start?
Look, even if the recent chatter has been blown out of proportion, there’s no way it’s entirely untrue. The reporting done by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright in their piece was extensive and brilliant and included a half-acknowledgement from Spurs general manager R.C. Buford that things aren’t peachy keen.
Something is wrong here. Both the Spurs and Leonard need to address it, if only to figure out whether anything more profound is at play.
Could this all just be a really bad game of telephone? Is the relationship between Leonard and the Spurs salvageable? Is this really about miscommunication, or does Leonard or the Spurs have something more deep-seated against the other? Does Leonard want out? Do the Spurs want to give him the designated player extension if they receive a rock-solid prognosis on his medical situation? Is he willing to stay with them if they don’t offer it?
Questions abound, and for too long, it’s seemed like neither side has unearthed any answers. That needs to change, and perhaps Leonard returning to San Antonio is the first step of that process.
