San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich and Kawhi Leonard held a meeting in California on Tuesday, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne.
Kawhi Leonard and Gregg Popovich met in California, report says
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
The meeting comes after reports earlier this month that Leonard wanted to play elsewhere, specifically with the Los Angeles Lakers. It was earlier reported that Leonard and the Spurs were trying to make amends, but those talks appear to have fallen through.
Leonard only played nine games this past season after leading the Spurs to the Western Conference Finals just a year before. Ever since then, he’s been nursing a quadriceps injury and both the team and Leonard have been at odds over how to handle it.
According to ESPN, Leonard told those close to him that he did not want to meet with Coach Popovich and has been hard for the team to get in contact with. Leonard is also angry — according to the report — with how the Spurs handled his injury.
Among the issues, Leonard is angry over what he believes was the Spurs’ mishandling of his quad injury, and remains irate with public comments from teammate Tony Parker and Popovich that he felt were not supportive of him, league sources said.
According to ESPN, the Spurs haven’t been very wiling to talk to teams about trades, although there’s been much speculation about what a deal for Leonard would look like. The Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers are among the non-LA teams that could make a move for him.
Leonard could also sign a super max contract with the Spurs this summer worth $219 million.
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