Back in 2014, Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant called Toronto Raptors small forward Kawhi Leonard a system player with the San Antonio Spurs, saying on Twitter that the two-time Defensive Player of the Year was “doing work like this because of the system.”
Kevin Durant was of the belief that his good friend, Paul George, was better than Kawhi Leonard and that if George was with the Spurs, he would be doing even more damage than Leonard was doing.
Four years later, Kawhi Leonard has completely shut down that narrative, as he's now with the Raptors and putting up MVP-type numbers. Leonard and Kevin Durant can both become unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2019 if they decline their player options with their respective teams, and there have been rumors the two superstars could team up with LeBron James on the Lakers or join the Clippers together.
However, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Kawhi Leonard reportedly still holds a grudge against Kevin Durant for his “system player” comments and doesn't want to be teammates with KD:
“From what I heard, when Kawhi heard Kevin Durant comments about Kawhi being a system player it really, really pissed him off,” Windhorst said on ESPN Radio. “I don’t foresee Kawhi wanting to play with KD.”
Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant worked out at UCLA this offseason with LeBron James. A lot of players train at UCLA over the summer, though.
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