With nearly half of the regular season already in the books, it's safe to say that the Toronto Raptors struck gold with their coup of Kawhi Leonard last summer from the San Antonio Spurs. The former Finals MVP has been nothing but great for the Raptors, and head coach Nick Nurse could not be happier with how successful Leonard's transition has been.
When asked to describe his relationship with his star player, Nurse explained how it is characterized by professionalism and mutual respect.
“It’s professional,” says Nurse, via Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “I think he knows that I respect him and I’m trying really hard to help him. I think we align pretty good. And he’s a joy to coach. There’s just been no uncomfortable moments coaching the guy.”
It appears that Nurse has had no issues whatsoever in terms of Kawhi Leonard's coachability. It looks like Leonard has put his tumultuous summer and a rather unceremonious divorce with the Spurs completely behind him.
Leonard has moved on quite quickly, and with averages of 27.2 points (on 49.9 percent shooting), 1.7 three-pointers, 7.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game for the Raptors this season, looks set to be part of the MVP conversation by the end of the year.
Nick Nurse was then asked about Leonard entering free agency this summer, to which he responded straightforwardly.
“Us having a good team, a successful team and him being a super critical part of that, that’s all we can do,” Nurse exclaimed.
One could not agree with Nurse more here. The ball is definitely in Kawhi Leonard's court, and all the team can do is to be the best they can be, with the hope of somehow convincing the All-NBA swingman to stay in Toronto for the long haul.
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