Former San Antonio Spurs David Robinson and Bruce Bowen had some frank words for All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard in separate interviews this week, adding to the drama that has gripped one of the model franchises of pro sports since reports surfaced that Leonard wants a trade.
Never one to hold back, Bowen was particularly pointed in his remarks, ripping Leonard for claiming the Spurs didn’t have his best interests at heart when they cleared him to return from a quadriceps injury last December.
“I think there’s nothing but excuses going on,” Bowen told Sirius XM NBA Radio on Thursday. "First, it was, 'Well I was misdiagnosed.' Look here: You got $18 million this year, and you think that they're trying to rush you? You didn't play for the most part a full season this year. And you're the go-to guy, you're the franchise, and you want to say that they didn't have your best interest at heart? Are you kidding me?"
One of the top five players in the NBA, Leonard was limited to nine games by the quad injury last season. He missed the Spurs’ first 27 games before making his season debut Dec. 12 and played for a month before he was shut down for the rest of the campaign.
Leonard reportedly feels “uncomfortable” with the Spurs and “betrayed” by the organization over the handling of his injury. Leonard sought a second opinion in New York and had his own medical team supervise his rehabilitation for most of the second half of the season.
Leonard has spoken to the media only twice since Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters last Sept. 30 that Leonard would miss the entire preseason.
Robinson addressed how Leonard’s reticence to talk about his relationship with the Spurs and his injury has added to the anxiety of the perplexing saga. Robinson also spoke of the importance of Leonard speaking for himself instead of deferring to his representatives, uncle Dennis Robertson and agent Mitch Frankel.
“I think for Kawhi, it’s about growing up, right?” Robinson said Thursday on ESPN’s Get Up! TV show. “You step into that responsibility, man, you’re the face of the franchise. You can’t not talk, right? You’ve got to let people hear your voice, not somebody else’s.”
Robinson, who won two NBA championships during his stellar 14-year career with the Spurs, said it’s important that Leonard take responsibility as a team leader.
“If you want to be a top two or three player in the league, you’ve got to be a leader,” he said. “LeBron [James] doesn’t sit around waiting for people to talk for him. LeBron gets out there and says, ‘Hey, this is my team, this is what’s happening.’ And I think that’s where Kawhi is. He’s meant so much for our franchise. We love him. We all want him to be there next year. But we want him to be there and take control.”
Bowen, who won three NBA titles with the Spurs and was named to the All-NBA Defensive Team eight teams, expressed similar thoughts about Leonard’s lack of candor in the matter.
“Not one time has Kawhi come out and said anything to the effect of, ‘You know what, hey, I really enjoy being in San Antoni,.’ or, ‘I can’t stand what’s going on here in San Antonio,’” Bowen said. “Not one time has he said anything.”
Bowen also questioned Leonard’s representatives.
"I think he's getting bad advice," Bowen said. "I think what you're starting to see now is an individual given a certain amount of advice and it's not the right advice. Here it is: You were protected in San Antonio. You were able to come up during a time where you still could lean on Tim [Duncan], Tony [Parker] and Manu [Ginobili]."
Citing sources, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reported June 15 that Leonard had “grown frustrated with how the [Spurs] organization handled his quad injury and feels the franchise turned on him once he sought a second opinion.”
Multiple media outlets reported that Leonard wants to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, but that’s highly unlikely.
Leonard rehabbed in New York for much of the second half of the season, and eventually stopped going to Spurs games at the AT&T Center. He was not on the bench for any of the team’s five game against Golden State in the first round of the playoffs.
Bowen criticized Leonard for not supporting his teammates from the bench.
"As a player, if I'm a leader of a team, my team goes on the road in the playoffs, I'm with my guys," Bowen said. "Because that's what it's all about. It's about camaraderie. It's about fellowship. It's a brotherhood. When that didn't happen, it's all kinds of sirens and alarm signals that says to me, 'Is this person fully vested?'… I don't want to take on a player who's not willing to support his guys during the course of their time needing him."
Leonard, who turns 27 on June 29, is eligible for a five-year, $219 million supermax contract extension after July 1. He signed a five-year deal in 2015 worth more than $90 million. The contract runs through the 2019-20 season but Leonard could opt out of the deal after the 2018-19 season and become a free agent.