Toronto Talk Sports recently had the opportunity to sit down with Kawhi Leonard's trainer, Phil Handy, to talk about the superstar's health and his talked-about workout with LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
“He's doing great, he's in great shape. His body looks good, he's feeling good, he's moving well, so I don't anticipate any issues or problems.”
This is a welcome sight for all Raptors fans as many people are still wondering how the Kawhi experiment will turn out for the team, especially considering the 27-year old's issue with his health last season. Handy also gave out his general thought of the star's workout with LeBron and KD.
“The level they worked at was at an all time high. They just really competed, they pushed each other, they encouraged each other.”
Handy, a former assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has been hired by the Raptors front office to be part of the team's coaching staff. Marc J. Spears wrote a piece for The Undefeated about Handy's influence on the Cavaliers team that won the championship in 2016.
“We’re at the NBA Finals. They were acting like we were weak. I just told all of them that ‘this was some [expletive].’ That, the Warriors are ‘just out there punking y’all and ya’ll ain’t doing [expletive] … They’re getting in your faces, clowning in front of our bench and doing whatever they want to do. And ya’ll aren’t responding.’”
Kyrie Irving himself believed it was Handy's motivating remarks that ignited the team to willfully compete against the heavy-favorited Golden State Warriors.
“It was a man-to-man speech that needed to be said, that we all understood in order to, kind of, will ourselves to understand that we still have a chance in this series. Golden State took care of home court. But that speech really hit home for all of us.”
It is easy to realize why the Raptors acquired Handy's services to help mold the revamped team into a major contender come playoffs time next year.
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