What is going on in San Antonio? - Feb 14th, 2018

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What is going on in San Antonio?
Feb 14th, 2018

"I'll be surprised if he returns this season." - Gregg Popovich

To fill you in on the saga in San Antonio, it all started when their former NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard was injured and could not return after the opening game of the 2017 Western Conference Championship against the Golden State Warriors after a questionable closeout by Zaza Pachulia. According to SBNation.com's timeline, on September 30th, 2017, Kawhi first revealed his quad injury to the San Antonio Spurs and weeks later the Spurs announced that Leonard would miss the season opener and be out indefinitely. Eventually on December 12th, 2017, Kawhi made his 2018 season debut and averages 16.2 points per game in the nine games that he appeared in. Eventually, on January 17th the Spurs listed Leonard as out indefinitely and that takes us to recent comments by Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich in which he tells us that he would be surprised if he returns this season (video link above.)
So what does this mean for the Spurs? Well the Spurs are still third in the conference with roughly 20 games remaining so it looks like playoffs are still very obtainable. However, Kawhi's future with the team looks very questionable and this is a very unique situation given San Antonio's prestigious way of staying out of the media and running a seemingly flawless organized. The Spurs realistically have a minute chance of winning a NBA Championship this year, so Kawhi sitting out to rehab his injury does not worry me in that regard. The biggest issue is if Kawhi still wants to play in San Antonio long term. He is eligible for a super max contract this summer and many are looking to see if he signs it. The media does not know much but from the little that we know, we know that there is friction and a standalone with Leonard's team and the Spurs. With Kawhi being the one capable of handling the torch in David Robinson and Tim Duncan's retirements and Manu and Tony Parker deteriorating, it is in the Spurs' best interest to keep him onboard. Despite this unique situation, I do feel that the episode will die down when Kawhi is eventually back at 100% and when the Spurs slide him the supermax deal. However, it would be extremely interesting to see where he would land if he were to leave after the 2019 season.

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