San Antonio Spurs’ superstar small forward Kawhi Leonard is reportedly ‘seriously considering’ participating in Team USA’s basketball minicamp next week in Las Vegas, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN:
San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard is seriously considering participation in the USA Basketball national team’s minicamp in Las Vegas next week, an event for the embattled All-NBA forward to showcase the status of his recovery to prospective trade partners, league sources told ESPN.
Leonard has been listed as one of the 35 players invited to the camp at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas since April, but his recovery from a season-ending quadriceps injury and possible trade status created uncertainty about his intentions.
This is an interesting situation for Leonard, as the All-NBA forward has been surrounded by controversy in the past few months due in part to his quad injury situation that held him out of all but just nine games during the 2017-18 season, along with reported trade talks the Spurs are having with teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Toronto Raptors.
To make matters even more interesting, San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich will be leading the minicamp as the national team’s head coach, even though the pair’s relationship reportedly still ‘remains strong’.
If Leonard decides to pass on the opportunity to participate in the minicamp, he will join fellow stars, Stephen Curry and LeBron James, who have also reportedly vouched to not attend the camp.
