Embattled San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard and head coach Gregg Popovich were earlier reported to have set a date for a meeting to be held just before the 2018 NBA Draft. Even before that sit-down, however, there seems to have been an initial interaction between the two when Leonard and Popovich had contact with each other during the funeral of Popovich’s wife.
This much is known after Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania made an appearance on Chris Mannix's podcast and revealed the following details, heard through RealGM:
“Kawhi Leonard didn't necessarily ‘go rogue', despite all the reports,” said Shams Charania. “He was working out with San Antonio staffers during the season and now going into the summer, his rehab has continued. He's been around. He went to Gregg Popovich's wife's service shortly after the season ended. People close to him, they made it clear he was there. He interacted with Spurs' officials, with staffers.”
Leonard’s situation in San Antonio has continued to be a large, dark cloud hanging over the heads of the Spurs. The two-way forward played in only nine games in the 2017-18 campaign because of a quad issue and averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. The Spurs were able to reach the playoffs even without the services of Leonard for most of the regular season, but they were simply overmatched by an All-Star-laden Golden State Warriors unit, who took them out of the first round after just five games.
The Spurs has control of Leonard for at least until 2019, when the forward can decide to opt out of his deal, so this offseason is going to be vital in terms of projecting the player’s future with the team.
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