Despite nearly a year having gone by since Kawhi Leonard was traded to the Toronto Raptors, the San Antonio Spurs are still feeling the palpable reverberations of his move to The Six, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times.
The Spurs managed to make it into the playoffs for an NBA-record 22nd straight season, yet struggled to advance, boasting a roster clearly not as potent as it was with a fully healthy Leonard:
While the ever-private Spurs aren’t talking about any of this, it is clear they’re still grieving and healing from the loss of Leonard, even after what ranked, by most accounts, as a fine bounce-back season without him.
San Antonio looked like a very different team in 2018-19: No Kawhi Leonard, no Manu Ginobili, no Tony Parker.
Besides losing three of their most recognizable faces since Tim Duncan, the Spurs started the season without the would-be heir to the point guard position — Dejounte Murray, who missed the entire season with a torn ACL.
Only days later, rookie Lonnie Walker IV went down to an injury of his own, missing a chunk of the season before being incorporated into the rotation.
The Spurs recovered admirably, but it was clear the Raptors had gotten the better player in a trade that would not have taken place if it wasn't for Leonard's irreconcilable differences with the franchise.
San Antonio has always built from the draft, nurturing players and honoring their contracts. Seeing one of their own force his way out in the way that he did left a deep wound in the franchise, with the scar only beginning to heal as the team and its fans still come to grips with his decision.
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