There's no easy way to say it: Some Spurs fans are down on injured All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard will miss his 61st game of the season Saturday night when the Silver and Black play the Minnesota Timberwolves at the AT&T Center. He has struggled to overcome tendinopathy in his right quadriceps since before the start of training camp, playing in only nine games.
More Spurs fans have become critical of Leonard in recent weeks, saying he should return to help the Silver and Black in the season's homestretch. But Spurs coach Gregg Popovich repeated Saturday night what he said earlier this week: Leonard still hasn't been cleared by his doctors to play.
While some fans have questioned Leonard's commitment to the team, his teammates have expressed their support for him at every turn. The latest Spur to defend him is veteran center Pau Gasol.
"Humans tend to make the mistake of judging without knowing," Gasol said Saturday after the team's shootaround. "We don't know exactly what Kawhi feels, or has felt, or has going on. I think you always have to honor people's ethic and morals and desire to play and do what you're supposed to do. That's what we all hope for.
"I think we're going to have a positive mentality about it and not be critical. That's not going to do any good. We hope that at some point coming down the stretch, 13 games left, at some point all the work that he's done, individually and throughout the season, pays off and can help us at the end. Hopefully sooner rather than later because we don't have much left. We're in a pretty tough position."
Leonard missed the Spurs' first 27 games of the season before making his debut Dec. 12. He played for a month before he was shut down again and hasn't appeared in a game since then.
In his seventh season with San Antonio, Leonard averaged 16.2 points. 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in the nine games he played.
Leonard told reporters March 7 that he could return to the lineup “soon,” although he didn’t give a target date.
“Obviously, I’m a competitor,” Leonard said. “If I could play, I’m going to go out and play like I did in the nine games, just to test it out. It just wasn’t where we wanted it to be.”
Asked when he thought he would play again, Leonard said: “Soon. I don’t have a set date right now, but I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing. The progression that I’ve been making has been great, so I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Popovich said last month that he would be "surprised" if Leonard returned to play this season. On Tuesday, he poured cold water on speculation that Leonard's return is imminent.
“Like anybody else, he’s frustrated,” Popovich said. “He wants to be playing. He’s competitive, been a tough year in that regard for him. But the first step is he’s got to be cleared by his medical staff that he’s seeing, and until he gets cleared, we can’t make a decision on when he’s coming back.
“Once he gets cleared, then he and I can sit down and talk and see what we think about an appropriate time to come back. But that clearance has to be obtained first.”
Leonard went to New York during the All-Star break to seek a second opinion from medical specialists.
Asked if there was a difference of opinion between Leonard’s doctors and the Spurs’ medical staff, Popovich said: “No, not that I know of."
Even after he’s cleared by his medical staff, Leonard will have a sitdown with Popovich.
“That’s a negotiation between a player and a coach to figure out what’s best,” Popovich said. “He knows very well... our history is pretty documented. If we’re going to err, we’re going to err on the conservative side because his career is going to be of paramount importance to us.
“It’s not the game, or the playoff, or this or that. It was the same way with Tim [Duncan] when he hurt a knee one year and we didn’t let him go in the playoffs. I don’t know if that will be this situation. We don’t know. His career will be paramount in our thinking as we make a decision.”
Through it all, Leonard's teammates have expressed their support.
"Again, we're all happy, and patient and understanding," Gasol said. "It must be hard for a guy that is as talented as Kawhi is to have a season like this, and to be in the position that he's been. All we can do is support him, encourage him, and hope that he comes back at some point to helps us."
