Kawhi Leonard has been a disgruntled superstar for the last couple of years. It took a move to the Toronto Raptors in order for Leonard to be satisfied with his role in the NBA. After spending seven years with the San Antonio Spurs, Leonard figured that enough was enough. Just because he played for an established winning organization didn’t mean that was going to make his time there much easier. Leonard hated where he was at, and he refused to play another minute in the NBA as long as he was with the Spurs.
We all know the story – the San Antonio Spurs made a franchise-changing move that would send Leonard to the Toronto Raptors and would bring Raptors’ star DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs. The move was a win-win situation for both parties.
Like always though, not everybody can be satisfied. Spurs head coach Greg Popovich hasn’t thought too highly of Leonard over the last couple of years or so. Maybe his nine-game showing in 2017 made “Pop” think less of Leonard, or maybe Leonard just simply wasn’t anything more than a good player. Superstars in the NBA are supposed to be more than a human highlight reel. Coaches and teammates expect the most from the best players on a team.
They expect stars to be captains and outspoken leaders. While Leonard was a star with the Spurs, Coach Popovich made it clear that he thinks Leonard wasn’t really much of a captain. While Leonards “talent will be missed,” in San Antonio, Coach Popovich stated that Leonard “wasn’t a leader or anything.”
How Does Kawhi Respond to the Statement?
Maybe it’s his mellow personality, but Kawhi Leonard doesn’t seem so moved by Popovich’s comment. If Leonard was, in fact, not a leader with the Spurs, nobody could be all that surprised. After all, this is the guy who some would say ‘gave up’ on San Antonio during his final year there before being traded off.
Regardless of what everybody says though, Kawhi Leonard doesn’t seem to be losing any sleep about Pop’s comments. In fact, he just shrugged them off when Toronto Raptors’ reporters asked about his opinion on the comments of Leonard having a lack of leadership, despite being a great player.
“It’s just funny to me. I don’t know if he’s talking about last year or not,” Leonard told reporters. “I guess when you stop playing they forget how you lead. … It doesn’t matter. I’m here with the Raptors and I’m focused on the season and not what’s going on on the other side.”
Kawhi Leonard kept his response short and sweet on Sunday, as he addressed the questions with the Toronto media. While Leonard had to make it clear that he believes he was good leader in San Antonio, he’s no longer worried about what his coach from the Spurs thinks about him. Leonard’s got a good thing going with the Toronto Raptors, and that’s where all of his focus will remain from here on out.
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Kawhi Leonard Shrugs off Gregg Popovich’s Leadership Comments