As Kawhi Leonard returns to San Antonio with his advisers in preparation for a potentially difficult meeting with the Spurs, those around Leonard may have a separate agenda in secrecy, according to a report from ESPN.com.
Leonard, who’s missed much of the past calendar year with a quadriceps injury, has remained away from the team for a significant amount of time. Some around the league believe Leonard’s camp is pushing for a trade to a larger market, according to ESPN.
Multiple league sources also told ESPN that the Spurs have grown worried that Leonard’s group has an ulterior motive to fray the relationship and get Leonard traded to a larger market such as Los Angeles (Leonard’s hometown) or New York or Philadelphia (Robertson lives in New Jersey).
One source close to Buford said the longtime executive admitted to him that he’s constantly losing sleep over how and why the relationship with Leonard has disintegrated.
The season-long disagreement between the Spurs and Leonard has been confusing, tumultuous and inconsistent to say the least, with teammates confronting him, media questioning him and some fans ridiculing him.
The disagreement largely exists within the nature of Leonard’s injury, according to ESPN.
According to multiple sources, Leonard’s camp has come to believe the issue has more to do with an ossification, or hardening, in the area where the muscle has been repeatedly bruised, and then an atrophy, which in turn affected the tendons connecting the muscle to the knee.
The Spurs have always called the injury quadriceps tendinopathy, which is a disease of the tendon that has a degenerative effect on the muscle by keeping it in a constant state of exhaustion.
Despite the rumors, Leonard has reportedly maintained a strong relationship with Gregg Popovich. ESPN also reported Leonard would have stayed with the team had Popovich returned following the passing of his wife, although he likely would not have played.
