• Kawhi Leonard and Gregg Popovich shared a tough relationship during their time together on the Spurs
• Leonard was traded away in 2019 after disagreements over how the Spurs were treating his knee injury
• A clip of them arguing over a missed pass by Kawhi during a 2016 game has gone viral
The coach with the most NBA wins all-time, Gregg Popovich didn’t earn his plaudits by going easy on his players, even if he was a star. This is even cleared with this leaked clip of him yelling at Kawhi Leonard for not spotting an open pass to Davis Bertans.
Gregg Popovich: “Look at the court. He’s wide a** open, throw the damn ball!
Kawhi Leonard: “Who?”
Gregg Popovich: “Good God, the white guy!”
LEAKED Audio Of Kawhi Leonard & Greg Popovich Arguing In 2016👀:
Pop: “Look at the court. He’s wide a** open, throw the damn ball!
Kawhi: “Who?”
Pop: “Good God, the white guy!”
Also, you can see Ime Udoka laughing on the bench as an assistant coach😂 pic.twitter.com/q8SOASRKe5
— LegendZ (@legendz_prod) October 3, 2023
Assistant coach Ime Udoka cracks up at Popovich referring to Bertans as ‘the white guy’ to Kawhi. Pop and Kawhi build a relationship on professional respect, but it all went out the window by the end of Kawhi’s stint there.
He was traded away in 2019 after disagreements with the Spurs training staff about the treatment of his knee injury. He had requested a trade to a Los Angeles-based team but was sent to the Raptors, where he won one title and ended up with the Clippers anyway.
Why Did Kawhi Leonard Leave The Spurs?
Kawhi Leonard tore his ACL during the 2017-18 season with the Spurs, with the injury eventually leading to him asking out. He disagreed with the Spurs trainers on the health of his knee and refused to play, which soured his teammates and led to his trade, as he finished the rehab process in Toronto.
After tearing his ACL with the Clippers in the 2021 Playoffs, Kawhi threw shade at the Spurs last offseason for how they handled his ACL tear compared to the Clippers.
“It is just a different situation. You know from me getting traded from one team to another and how that rehab process went for me. So, it’s been very different this time going through that. You know having the team behind my back. Moving forward they want what’s best for me.”
The statement about having the team behind his back is a clear reference to Spurs players not supporting Kawhi’s injury concerns.
Tony Parker even publicly called Kawhi out over it, so the Spurs had no choice but to trade away their franchise superstar for a first-round pick, DeMar DeRozan, and Jakob Poeltl. Poeltl was traded back to Toronto last winter.
Kawhi Leonard Looks Ready For The 2023/24 NBA Season
Kawhi Leonard looks raring to go for the 2023-24 NBA season after an offseason full of doubt being cast over him and his team. Leonard averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists last season but ended the season in a predictable way, getting injured and not being able to play through the playoffs.
The league instituted a 65-game requirement for All-NBA selections and rules about resting players on back-to-back games and national TV games, seemingly directed at the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard has been the poster child of ‘load management’ after his first ACL tear and doesn’t think the league should make punitive policies like this because of how he chose to recover from the injury.
With the policy being in place, Leonard has no choice but to adhere to it. He seems clearly motivated to go into this season and be more available for the franchise, as they desperately need his consistent availability to contend in the West.
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